Big Brother
by MyAibou
Summary: From the moment she came into his life, he'd been defined by one thing: being Big Brother. JounouchixShizuka NOT incest. Series of 30 oneshot themes. Rated for language in some themes.
1. Look over here

**BIG BROTHER**

This comes from the "30 kisses" fic challenge community on Live Journal. Now normally I don't post stories a chapter at a time, but since each of the thirty themes is a separate one-shot unto itself, I'm gonna bend my own rule, 'cause if I never finish it's not like it'll really leave anyone hanging. As I update to 30 Kisses, I'll update here.

**Summary:** From the moment she came into his life, he'd been defined by one thing: being Big Brother. JounouchixShizuka (NOT incest).

**Disclaimer: **_Yu-gi-oh_ doesn't belong to me, and neither do Jounouchi or Shizuka. I'm merely borrowing Takahashi-san's toys. I promise to put them back when I'm done.

**Rating overall:** M (for language and some adult themes)

**Rating for #1:** K

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**#1. Look Over Here**

Everything was scary. The halls were long and white with paintings of bunnies and teddy bears. There were lots of busy people in green or blue pajamas or long white coats running up and down them, and other people carrying pink or blue balloons or flowers. His daddy had a pink balloon and the little boy, barely two years old, had wanted to hold the balloon, but Daddy said it wasn't for him, it was for Baby Sister. This made him cry. The paintings on the walls weren't enough to mask the funny smell and the scariness of the place and he just wanted the balloon to make it a little less scary, but Daddy said no. Pink was for girls, Daddy said.

"Katsuya!" his daddy snapped at him in that voice he got. Usually Daddy got that voice when he smelled funny and walked funny, stumbling a lot, but he wasn't smelling funny the past couple of days and could walk straight, so that was something anyway. "Katsuya!" Daddy repeated. "Be a big boy! Big boys don't cry!"

The little boy swallowed his tears and let his daddy lead him down the hallway with the bunnies and bears until they went into one of the rooms. It wasn't any less scary than the hallway despite more bunnies and bears painted on the walls in here, too, but it did have the one thing he was most wanting to see in the world… his mother. When he'd woken up that morning, his mother had been gone, along with daddy; the neighbor lady was there instead. Daddy came back later and said they were going to see Mommy and Baby Sister and had brought him here and now finally, here Mommy was. She was sitting in a bed in the corner, holding something.

"Mommy!" he cried, letting go of his daddy's hand and running to the bed.

She looked up from what she was holding. "Katsuya-chan," she said softly, smiling. "Shhh. Your baby sister is sleeping."

He stopped dead in his tracks. His parents had been talking about Baby Sister for a long time now, and they always would pat his mother's belly, which seemed to get bigger and rounder all the time. But now she seemed to be talking about what she was holding instead of her belly and he was confused.

"Katsuya-chan, look over here," she said softly, beckoning him. "Come see your baby sister."

He started forward again, more cautiously this time. When he got to the bed, his daddy helped him climb up next to his mommy so he could see what she was holding. It was red and wrinkled and had and tiny little fists and was wearing a pink cap. It was funny looking and smelled funny, but not the same as when Daddy smelled funny. This was kind of a nice funny smell. And besides, Katsuya felt huge all of a sudden. He really _was_ a big boy, just like Daddy said.

"This is Shizuka, Katsuya. This is your baby sister. You're a big brother now!"

He knew those words, too. They'd been calling him Big Brother just as long as they'd been talking about Baby Sister. He liked that, being Big Brother. It was good to be Big Anything.

"Is that balloon for us?" she asked, looking past Katsuya to his daddy, who seemed very out of place and uncomfortable in this room with painted bunnies and bears.

"Bay-bee Si-tah," Katsuya nodded solemnly, remembering what Daddy had said about big boys not crying.

"That's so sweet," his mommy smiled. "Can you say 'Shizuka'?"

He wrinkled his nose, confused. "Bay-bee Si-tah," he repeated, looking at the funny wrinkled blob in Mommy's arms.

"Yes, she's your baby sister, but her name is Shizuka. Say 'Shizuka.'"

"Zoo-ka?"

Mommy's smile got very big. He liked that. "That's wonderful, Katsuya-chan! Shizuka! It means 'calm' or 'peaceful,' did you know that?"

He didn't know what those words meant, but he liked the sound of it. Things had seemed better since they started talking about Baby Sister and Mommy started getting rounder and rounder. Daddy didn't smell funny or talk all funny and blurry or have trouble walking so much. He didn't shout as much or use those ugly words Mommy said were bad. Mommy was happier, too, smiling more. If that's what "Shizuka" meant, then he approved, even if it meant he didn't get the balloon.

"Zoo-ka," he said again, and Mommy laughed and clapped and Daddy patted him on the shoulder.

"Give Shizuka a kiss," Mommy said, and he obediently leaned forward and kissed the red blob on top of the pink cap.

"You're Shizuka's big brother, Katsuya-chan," Mommy told him. "You're going to have to help Mommy and Daddy take care of her, okay? You're such a big boy."

He nodded. Big Boy. Big Brother. Less Daddy shouting and smelling funny.

He liked this Shizuka, he decided. Even if it did look and smell kinda weird.


	2. News

**Rating: **M (for language... and what does it say about Jounouchi's dad that a chapter where Jou is all of five gets an M rating just because of his dad's mouth?)

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**#2 News**

Mommy had been crying all day.

It had started in the parking lot of the doctor's office. They'd been coming to this doctor since as long as Katsuya could remember. About as long as Shizuka had been alive. There were colored blocks in the waiting room and he and Shizuka would build towers as tall as they were and laugh when they came tumbling down. They always came tumbling down. Shizuka would get frustrated sometimes. She was only three and little, not a big five-year-old like him, so she couldn't ever seem to get her towers quite as tall as his, but he would help her. It's what Big Brothers do. They would build the towers together and knock them over and laugh, her red head bowed against his blond one, until the nurse called "Jounouchi Shizuka!" and then they would go into the doctor's office and he would use all the funny machines to look into Shizuka's eyes. Katsuya wanted the doctor to look into his eyes, too. Sometimes he did.

But not today.

Today he didn't look in Shizuka's eyes, either. He just talked to Mommy using big words Katsuya didn't understand and Mommy held Shizuka tighter and tighter, kissing the top of her head. Katsuya tried to climb into her lap, too, but she pushed him away. "Not now, Katsuya!" she said sharply. Mommy was rarely sharp. Daddy, yes, but not Mommy.

After they left they doctor's office, she bundled them into their seats. Shizuka had a regular car seat, but Katsuya was a big boy, big enough for a booster with the regular belt. When they were in the seats, Mommy got into the front seat and started the car, but she didn't drive. She just sat there at the wheel and then she started to cry.

"Mommy?" he asked. "Why you crying?"

She sniffed and took a great shuddering breath. "It's nothing, Katsuya-chan." And then she started the car and drove them home.

At home she put on the television set and let them watch longer than she usually did. Mostly she sat in the kitchen and cried. Whenever he tried to go to her, to try and find out why she was crying, she would turn away and pretend she wasn't crying at all.

Dinner came and went. Daddy didn't come home for dinner, but Katsuya was just as happy when Daddy didn't come home. He was always grumpy and smelled real bad and would say bad words and yell and make Mommy and Shizuka cry, so dinner without Daddy wasn't so bad. After dinner, Mommy gave them baths and read them stories and tried to pretend she wasn't crying.

Not long after they went to bed, he heard Daddy come home. He slammed open the door and stomped in, throwing his shoes against the wall.

"Shizuka had her doctor's appointment today," their mother said in a flat, tired voice.

"Yeah?" came their father's reply.

"Aren't you the least bit interested in what he has to say?"

There was a loud bang, like someone pounding on the table. Katsuya jumped. "Goddammit, Mine!" Daddy shouted, his words slow and slurred.

"Shh! The kids are sleeping!"

"I don' give a shit! I'm so fucking sick of this bullshit! The whole fucking world don't revolve 'round fucking Shizuka an' her fucking eyes!"

Katsuya cringed at the bad words, then suddenly his mattress sagged under additional weight. He opened his arms and Shizuka climbed up and settled there, clinging tightly to him, her face buried in his chest.

"Well, you'll be happy to know that we're done, then," they heard Mommy shout back, her voice very high-pitched and tight. "The doctor said there's nothing left that can be done, not unless we suddenly win the lottery. She's going to go _blind_, Raidon! Completely blind by the time she's a teenager, do you get that?"

"Is this _news_ to you? We've known this since she was fucking born, and our lives have been fucked up ever since! Let her go blind and be _done_ with it for Chrissake!"

There was no answer from their mother, and then their father grumbled, "Fuck it. I need another drink."

Katsuya could feel Shizuka shake in his arms as she began to cry. "Shhhh," he soothed, "don't cry, 'Zuka. It's okay." They didn't know what any of that meant, but Daddy was often shouting about Shizuka and the doctors and her eyes. "It's not your fault," Katsuya croaked into his sister's hair, his throat forming an angry lump. It wasn't fair that Daddy was always mad at Shizuka! It wasn't her fault she had to go to the doctors! It wasn't her fault they were always looking at her eyes! She would've been just as happy never going there again, even if they did have those cool blocks.

"Katsu," she whispered, crying into his chest.

"It's okay, 'Zuka. Big Brother is here."


	3. Jolt!

**Rating: **T for language

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**#3 Jolt!**

She had always wanted to see the ocean. They weren't supposed to go alone, of course; but he was _nine_ now, certainly grown-up enough to take care of his seven-year-old sister by himself and take her to the beach. The bus ride wasn't that long and they would only have to transfer once.

"Won't Mom be mad?" Shizuka asked.

"Let me worry about that," Jounouchi replied. (No one except Shizuka or his parents called him Katsuya anymore. He was _nine_ after all.)

It was too cold for bathing suits, and he didn't want Ma to get suspicious anyway, so they just went in their street clothes. The bus took them up a long winding cliff-hugging road and let them off about five hundred meters from the beach. He took her hand as they walked the rest of the way up the road, their walk turning into a run when they could see the ocean sparkling in the sun just beyond the top of the hill.

Most of his school friends would make fun of him if they saw him now, holding his little sister's hand, taking her on a trip without being forced to by his parents. Younger siblings were to be treated with disdain; pests whose sole purpose in life was to make older brothers miserable. Especially younger sisters, who had the double curse of both being younger _and_ girls. I mean, who would be caught dead hanging out with _any_ girl, let alone your kid sister? So when they were at school, Jounouchi acted like all the other kids and did his very best to pretend his younger sister didn't exist. And when he did have to acknowledge her presence, that she was an annoyance to him, like a fly at a picnic.

But his school friends weren't here now and Jounouchi was free to be the Big Brother he was supposed to be. He and Shizuka were different from other brothers and sisters, and although he knew instinctively the boys at school would never understand this, she would always be the most important person in his life. He had to look out for her; who else did she have? Their mother, yes, but Ma had worries of her own. She spent so much time fighting with Dad over Shizuka… fighting over money for more doctors' appointments or new and experimental treatments for her vision that was oh so gradually getting worse. Fighting over whether or not she should go to a special school (Dad didn't want to spend the money on the private school in Domino where they could work with her individually when there was a perfectly good public school in Tokyo for blind kids, but Ma didn't want to send her away for ten months out of the year). Fighting over whether or not Shizuka's very existence made their lives hell.

Jounouchi clenched his fists just thinking about their father and the way he blamed Shizuka for everything that was wrong in his life. Like it was her fault he spent all his money on booze and gambling and couldn't hold down a decent job because he was always drunk.

So while his parents battled it out, it was Jounouchi who took care of the day-to-day. He was her Big Brother, her _Onii-chan_. He made sure she didn't listen to the horrible things her father would say. He made sure she had everything she needed. He helped her with her homework if she had trouble seeing the questions or if the print was too small. And if she wanted to see the ocean, then by God, he'd be the one to take her. Sure, he'd be grounded for a week, a month maybe, when his mother found out, but it was a small price to pay for this moment of bliss for Shizuka.

They spent their day playing in the surf (Ma was going to _kill_ him for getting his street clothes wet!) and building sand castles. The sun glistened on Shizuka's shoulder-length auburn hair, making it look redder than usual, and her hazel eyes danced in glee when a wave got Jounouchi, dousing him from head to toe as he tried to scramble up the beach away from the water. They didn't even think about leaving until the sky was turning pink and the sun had disappeared behind the cliff. He couldn't remember ever seeing Shizuka so _happy_.

"We'll come back here again," he promised, pinky swearing to her.

* * *

It was the loud crash that awakened him, and then he heard his father's low growl. He and Ma were fighting again. Big surprise, that. Jounouchi grimaced, but immediately crawled out of bed and crept next door to Shizuka's room to check on her. He poked his head in the door and could tell immediately she was still sound asleep. Both she and he had become quite accustomed to sleeping through any ruckus his parents created. He wasn't sure why this one woke him, and he was about to go back to bed when his mother's words froze him in his tracks.

"You know what, Raidon? This just isn't worth it. You wanna drink your life away? Fine. But leave me out of it. I'll take the kids to Tokyo and stay with my mother. Then you won't have to worry about Shizuka or her vision problems affecting your pathetic little existence ever again."

"Like hell you will!" his father roared, and Jounouchi jumped. Glancing once more into Shizuka's room to make sure she was still asleep, he crept further down the hall to listen. "You can do what you want with the girl, but no son of mine is gonna be raised by a bunch of _women_. He's already turning into a fucking girly-boy, the way he dotes on that girl."

Jounouchi clenched his hands into tight fists and bit down on his lip. He was _not _a girly-boy!

"Oh yes, God forbid he actually _care_ about anyone, that would be _tragic_," his mother seethed. "Not that you have anything to worry about. I've spent the last three out of four weeks in the principal's office at school because of Katsuya fighting on the playground. Believe me, Raidon, the one thing you don't have to worry about is that Katsuya is becoming too… I don't know, whatever you think being a decent person is. You have done quite a good job into turning him into a little clone of you!"

Jounouchi stiffened, his heart beating harder in his chest. Like his father? He was _nothing_ like his father! Yeah, he got in a fight or two at school, but that was totally not his fault! Those guys were asking for it, making fun of him or Shizuka. And he loved his sister! His father? He didn't love anyone but himself. Jounouchi was nothing like him!

Was he?

He didn't want to hear any more. The blood pounding in his ears, he slipped quickly back to bed, only half listening as his father shouted, "So help me, Mine, if you take that boy away from me, I will hunt you down!"

* * *

He'd gotten into another fight at school. Ma had kept Shizuka home for another doctor's appointment and one of the boys from another class had started singing "Three Blind Mice" on the playground and Jounouchi gave him what for. When the teacher came to break things up, rather than face another trip to the principal's office and another phone call home to his mother, he bolted. He was still stinging from a few nights ago when she'd said he was like his father. He was _not_ and a few fights with jerks who deserved it didn't make him so. He ran off the playground as fast as he could, out the school gate and toward home. If he could get to his mother first, if he could explain what happened before the principal twisted everything to make him sound like the bad guy, maybe she'd understand. Maybe she would see he wasn't like his father at all. He loved his sister, that's all.

And the way Ma had been this morning when he'd left for school, all _girly_ and junk, bolstered him. She'd hugged him and told him that she loved him, that she'd always love him, then had even _kissed_ him on the cheek, which he _so_ couldn't stand—he was too old for that mushy stuff! "Be good," she'd said after that, but in a mom kind of way, not in an angry way. In that kind of mood, he was certain she would listen. She had to.

When he got to his street, he saw Ma's car parked out front. Not surprising, she was taking Shizuka to the doctor today, right? Only… something wasn't quite right. Ma was loading up the trunk with suitcases. _Lots_ of suitcases and Shizuka was standing next to her. It looked like she was crying. Since when did you need suitcases to go to the doctor's?

He started running down the street just as Ma slammed closed the trunk. She took Shizuka by the hand and led her around to the back seat of the car. "Mommy, I don't wanna go!" he heard Shizuka cry, "Not without Katsuya-chan!"

His mother knelt down to his sister's eye level. She had to shout so Shizuka could hear her over her crying, so Jounouchi could hear her, too, even though he was still pretty far down the street. "Shizuka, quiet! I told you, we're going to go see Grandma, just us girls. Katsuya has to stay here with Daddy." She wiped the tears from Shizuka's cheeks. "Now be a big girl and get in the car."

Shizuka nodded and climbed in. Jounouchi's heart started beating faster, his mother's hug and kiss and everything she'd said that morning suddenly taking on a new, more ominous tone. _I love you, Katsuya, remember that. I'll always love you. Be good_.

They weren't going to visit Grandma; Ma was taking Shizuka to _live_ with her! _Without_ him! He knew it!

"Shizuka!" he screamed, racing down the street as fast as his legs would carry him.

"Katsuya?" His mother looked surprised. She would stop and talk with him and realize she had to take him, too, if she was going. She wouldn't, she couldn't leave without him!

But she didn't stop. As if he were a wild animal bearing down on them instead of her own son, a terrified look came to her eyes. She quickly got into the front seat and slammed the door shut and turned over the ignition.

"_Shizuka_!" he screamed. "Ma, no, _wait_!"

He saw Shizuka's face in the car window. "_Katsuya-Onii-chan!"_ she shrieked.

"_Shizuka_! Don't go! WAIT!"

"_Onii-chan!"_ he heard her call again, and then the car pulled away. He ran as hard as he could, but he couldn't catch up to the car and soon it was gone and he came to a stop, panting in frustration, tears streaming down his face.

His mother, he noticed, hadn't even looked back.


	4. Our distance and that person

**Rating: **K+ (for mild language)

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**#4 Our distance and that person**

Jounouchi stopped off at the mailbox on the way home from school. As usual, his father didn't pick up the mail, a fact for which Jounouchi was grateful. With the number of notes coming home from school about his fighting, especially since he'd starting hanging out with Hirutani, it was just as well that he got to the mail first. Not that his old man would care or bother going to see the principal. Unless the principal had some scotch or at least beer behind his desk that he was willing to share, what was the point?

The mailbox was full and Jounouchi shoved everything into his backpack then headed up to his apartment. Holding his breath, he unlocked the door and poked his head in.

The place was a mess, but then the place was always a mess. Empty beer bottles and pizza boxes and ramen packages littered the floor and there was that stale day- or even week-old beer smell that he always associated with his father. The mess didn't bother him, though. Hirutani had told him about his older brother's college fraternity parties and how things looked the morning after and it sounded a lot like this, so Jounouchi just pretended he was in college (not that he'd ever get to _go_ to college with his grades and no money) instead of sixth grade and it was all good. No, the mess was fine so long as the person who _made_ the mess wasn't around. And so far, it looked like the coast was clear.

Cautiously, Jounouchi stepped through the door and quietly closed it behind him. He put his backpack with the mail down on the floor and crept as quietly as he could toward the bedrooms; it was possible his dad was asleep. But when he got there, he found the bedroom empty, although similarly littered with the debris from several days of binge drinking. But no Dad.

With a heavy sigh of relief, Jounouchi returned to the living room. With a sweeping motion, he shoved the boxes and bottles and trash off the couch to make a place for himself, then grabbed his backpack and settled in to start going through the mail.

A lot of it was bills. He put those aside in a stack for his dad to look at. Not that Dad would _do_ anything about them. The power had been cut off twice in the past six months because he hadn't paid the electric bill, and the gas had been shut off once. When Jounouchi was old enough, he would apply for an exception for students who need money to work even though they're still students. He could get a newspaper route and help out with the bills. Of course, Hirutani had told him there were other, easier, faster ways to get money, but Jounouchi wasn't ready for that. Not yet, anyway.

Among the bills there was the letter he was expecting from the school. He pulled that one out and opened the envelope, reading it quickly.

_This is to inform you that your son, Jounouchi Katsuya, has been suspended for three days. He was caught fighting with another student_… blah blah blah. Jounouchi found the space at the bottom that was looking for his father's signature and hastily scrawled _Jounouchi Raidon_ in a very close approximation of his father's handwriting. He folded up the note and stuck it back in his backpack.

There was more mail, most of it more bills, and a package of some sort. He shoved aside the bills and looked at the package, surprised to see it was addressed to him. No return address, although it was postmarked Tokyo. It was wrapped in plain brown paper, giving no indication what its contents might be. Jounouchi frowned. Why would someone from Tokyo send him a package? Curious, he tore open the box and found a videocassette. He turned it over in his hands, but it had no labels.

A thought occurred to him then. Hirutani was always telling him about those videos he'd swiped from his brother. It would be just like him to order one through the mail and have it sent to Jounouchi as a joke. It certainly would explain the plain wrapping and the lack of return address. Grinning from ear to ear, he eagerly got up and went over to the TV and jammed the cassette into the VCR. He was dying to see what the fuss was about.

When he hit play, a short burst of static gave way to a shot of a bedroom. It looked like a young girl's bedroom, decorated in pink and frills, with stuffed animals on the bed. Jounouchi frowned. He was interested in seeing some of those videos, yeah, but with grown-up women with chests the size of cantaloupes, not with little girls! That was kinda sick… and then someone moved in front of the camera and his mouth dropped open.

It was Shizuka!

Shizuka, his kid sister, whom he hadn't seen or even heard from in the two years since his mother took her away to live with their grandmother in Tokyo. He was shocked at how grown-up she looked. She'd been seven when he'd last seen her, her face pressed against the window of the car as their mother drove away. Now she was nine. Her hair was longer and pulled back into a ponytail and she was chewing gum. She sat down in front of the camera and smiled shyly and waved.

"Hello, Katsuya Big Brother. I… I know you haven't heard from me in a long time. Mom won't let me call or write or anything, and writing is kinda hard to make the characters nice when they look all blurry anyway, so…" She took a great big sigh. She was nervous, he could tell. "I thought it might be cool to make a video of myself and send it to you instead. You know, just to say hi. Mom's not home and I think I can get it into the mail without her knowing, and I'm betting you're the one who always gets the mail so you don't have to tell Dad. 'Cause, you know…."

She paused, taking another breath. "Anyway, Mom has been taking me to some new doctors here in Tokyo, and there's a school here for kids with vision problems. They're helping me learn Braille and how to walk with a cane. You know, just in case. Mom thinks the doctors will be able to help, though. There's a new operation, and if we can save up enough money in the next five years or so, they think it'll work. It's really expensive, though, so I don't know. Mom works hard, but she doesn't have much money and neither does Grandma and no one thinks… well, you guys don't have any money either, anyway, so I guess it doesn't matter. But I think it's gonna be okay, because I've met a lot of kids at school who can't see at all and they do just fine. Maybe I can get one of those Guide dogs. That would be totally cool, huh? Then I could take him everywhere and no one could tell me I couldn't."

She paused again, and her eyes filled with tears. "I miss you, Big Brother. I hate that you're so far away and that you can't come live with us, too, because of… well, you know."

Jounouchi chewed on his lip in frustration, willing his eyes not to water. He was a boy, dammit, and boys didn't cry.

"If you can send me a videotape back, that would be cool. Oh, but address it to 'Kawai Shizuka.'" She rattled off an address in Tokyo before explaining, "Mom sorta changed our names to her maiden name when we moved here and she'll freak if she intercepts it and it says 'Jounouchi' on it. But anyway, I'll try and always check the mail first so she doesn't see and you always check your mail, too, 'cause I'll try and send more tapes every now and then. Okay? I miss you, Big Brother. I—"

There was a sound from somewhere off screen and she tensed, looking over her shoulder. Turning back to the screen, she said quickly, "Mom's home, gotta go. 'Bye!'" She then blew a kiss at the camera and disappeared out of the frame. The scene jiggled a bit and then went to static.

For a long time Jounouchi sat and watched the static, his own brown eyes reflecting back at him in the screen in the place where Shizuka's hazel ones had just been. Those big, beautiful hazel eyes that were growing dimmer and dimmer each year. Then he rewound the tape and watched it over and over again until he memorized every word, every smile, every tear on her cheek, even the way her gum cracked as she talked. Finally, he took the tape out and brought it into his bedroom, hiding it in the bottom of his underwear drawer along with his stash of magazines he'd swiped from his father and a few Hirutani had given him as well.

_Guide dogs,_ he thought in frustration. _She thinks it would be _cool_ to have a Guide dog._ He ground his teeth together, his fists clenched in rage. He kicked over the wastebasket in the corner by his desk, scattering papers and candy wrappers around the floor. When that wasn't enough to dispel his rage, he picked it up and hurled it against the wall, satisfied to see it dent on the side. _Guide dogs. GUIDE DOGS. Well, not if I can help it, dammit. _

He sat down heavily on his bed, his breath coming fast. When he'd finally calmed down, he reached over to the telephone that was buried under a pile of dirty shirts and socks. He dialed Hirutani's number.

"Hey, it's Jounouchi," he said quickly when his friend answered the phone. "Uh… you said you knew of some ways to make a few quick yens?"

"Yeah…" Hirutani answered slowly.

Jounouchi chewed on the inside of his cheek. "Count me in."


	5. Ano sa

**Author's Note:**

I've long been fascinated by Jounouchi's past. I'm a sucker for a good redemption story, and Jounouchi's is interesting because we meet him at his exact turning point, his moment of clarity. It is only through flashbacks and bits and pieces of past history that we get to glimpse what it was he needed redeeming _from_.

When we meet Jounouchi and Honda, they're petty bullies, tormenting Yugi by taking his Puzzle from him and teasing him, but they are a much lesser threat than the violent and terrifying Ushio, from whom Yugi must defend them. Later, however, we find out how violent Jounouchi's past really was; at one point, he was on the path to _being_ Ushio.

What's interesting to me is that this means that even before returning the Puzzle piece and setting the entire premise of the series in motion, Jounouchi had already decided he didn't want to be what he once was. Somewhere along the way, he must've had _another_ moment of clarity, something to get him from being Hirutani's Number Two to being nothing worse than the annoying punk we meet on page one of the first _Yu-gi-oh_ manga. Meeting Yugi was the final step for him, but what was the first?

This is my attempt at delving into that question, at looking at what could make Jounouchi hit rock bottom so that he could come back far enough that when Yugi finally does enter his life, he recognizes the value of the grace he's being offered and seizes it. It's Jounouchi's dark night of the soul.

But dawn is coming.

**Rating:** M (language, suggested adult themes)

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**#5 "Ano sa…" (Hey you know)**

"Hey Jounouchi, wait up!"

Jounouchi turned around to find Hirutani coming toward him and Honda as they walked away from the middle school on their way to find something to do to fill up the rest of their Saturday. Honda made a small sound in the back of his throat, but Jounouchi ignored him and greeted Hirutani with a bump of their fists.

"Hey Hirutani, what's up?"

"I've been looking for you all morning. Where ya been?"

"Around," Jounouchi shrugged. He liked hanging out with Hirutani and the gang, but sometimes he got the feeling Hirutani thought he owned him, and no one owned Jounouchi Katsuya. He could do what he wanted, when he wanted, and with whom he wanted, and today he wanted to hang out with Honda Hiroto.

"Well, I've got awesome news," Hirutani enthused. "The 'rents are out of town. They left this morning and aren't coming back until Monday. My brother's supposed to be in charge, but he doesn't give a shit what I do, so I'm throwing a big-ass party. Booze, babes, cigarettes, music—it's gonna be off the hook!"

"Whoa, I'm totally there!" Jounouchi grinned, bumping fists with Hirutani again. His father spent Saturday nights either at the bar or the casino—or more likely, the bar _at_ the casino—and wouldn't come stumbling home until sometime Sunday afternoon, so Jounouchi was free to do whatever he liked with his Saturday nights. Usually that meant tangling with some rival gang, asserting their authority, but a party sounded way better.

"There's gonna be some older kids from Rintama High School there, gonna give us the scoop for next year. We are _so_ gonna run the place, Jou. Those high school gangs are _already_ afraid of us after what we did to that eleventh-grader. He's _still_ in the hospital."

Jounouchi saw Honda shift his weight from one foot to the other.

Hirutani noticed, too. "Hey Honda, you going to Rintama next year?"

It was an innocent enough question, but Jounouchi understood what he was really asking, and Honda did too. For the teachers and parents, choice of high school was about the future; you went to industrial-track Rintama if you were going straight into the workforce with no plans for college, and to the more integrated Domino High if you wanted to keep your options for college open.

For students, however, choice of high school was purely political. Hirutani and the rest of his gang were going to Rintama and it was assumed that they would control the turf. They'd spent the better part of ninth grade challenging high school gangs just to stake their claim in advance. Choosing to go to Rintama, therefore, implied aligning yourself with Hirutani, or at the very least, accepting his authority.

To not go to Rintama, to choose Domino High instead, was to reject Hirutani's gang. Honda, Jounouchi already knew, was planning on going to Domino. To Hirutani, however, he answered, "I dunno. Haven't decided yet."

"What's to decide?" Hirutani pressed. "Domino is for dorks and rich kids."

Honda shrugged. "Wanna keep my options open."

Hirutani didn't particularly like Honda. While Honda was as tough as any of the guys in the gang and loyal to a fault—there wasn't anyone Jounouchi would rather have backing him up in a fight—he had resisted getting involved or even hanging out with anyone in the gang other than Jounouchi, and this grated on Hirutani. He didn't like it when he couldn't completely control someone and Jounouchi suspected he especially didn't like that Jounouchi had someone who was more loyal to him than to Hirutani. Because of this, Jounouchi bristled in defense of his friend.

"Oh, quit making such a thing of it, Hirutani. Who cares what high school anyone goes to? Maybe _I'll_ even go to Domino."

Hirutani raised his eyebrows at the direct challenge. "Careful, Jou." _Know your place_. They stood facing each other, eyes locked in a battle of wills. Then Hirutani laughed. "You just heard that rich bastard Kaiba goes there and are hoping to get in good with him." A truce.

Jounouchi rolled his eyes. "As if." Truce accepted.

"Anyway, be at my place around seven tonight, and bring some beer if you can snag some from your old man's stash."

"No way," Jounouchi shook his head. "I could disappear for a week and the old man wouldn't even know I was gone, but if so much as a drop of his booze disappeared, he'd be all over me like that," he snapped his fingers.

"Oh well, never mind. Bring money, then. My brother will buy the booze." Hirutani glanced at Honda. "You can bring your friend, too, if you want."

"That's okay," Honda replied quickly. "My sister just had a baby and we're gonna go visit them. Thanks anyway."

Hirutani narrowed his eyes for a moment, and then shrugged. "Your loss." Turning back to Jounouchi he said, "Okay, I gotta go get ready. See you tonight."

"You know it," Jounouchi replied, and Hirutani ambled off.

Jounouchi turned to Honda. "You told me you're not leaving until tomorrow morning to go to your sister's."

Honda gritted his teeth. "I just don't wanna go, okay? I'm not like you, Jounouchi. I don't fit in with those guys."

"You could if you wanted to," Jounouchi told him. "You're great in a fight—you've always got my back, anyway. You wouldn't be so nervous around them if you were one of us."

"I'm not nervous," Honda huffed.

"Eh, whatever," Jounouchi replied, clapping him on the back. He liked Honda, even if he wouldn't join the gang and was gonna go to Domino High. "Let's go to the arcade or something."

* * *

The party was everything Hirutani had promised it would be. Most of the kids were fourteen like him and Hirutani, but there were some older kids from Rintama just as Hirutani had promised, and a few younger kids from their middle school as well. The beer flowed freely along with some harder stuff, and Jounouchi, who had never really drank much before—his dad had always made getting drunk seem pretty unappealing—had already made his way through three bottles of Kirin Light. There were cigarettes, too; Hirutani seemed to have one perpetually dangling from his lips, but Jounouchi wasn't really interested.

And there were girls. Thousands of them, it seemed like. Giggling and bouncy and just begging to be kissed… or more.

"Hey you know, Jou," Hirutani mumbled through his cigarette as he threw his arm around Jounouchi's shoulders. "There's a girl here who likes you. Name's Aiko. Let me introduce you." He led Jounouchi through the throng of people to a corner where a girl waited. Jounouchi blinked. She was petite and looked a little younger than him with long red hair and green eyes.

She reminded him of Shizuka.

Naturally, the last thing he wanted to do was make out with a girl who looked like his sister, but he couldn't exactly tell Hirutani that. No one even knew he had a sister, not even Honda, so if he pulled her out of the air now, it would sound like a lame excuse, like he was afraid of being alone with a girl, which was _so_ not true. And he didn't want Hirutani to know about Shizuka anyway. Even having her name out there in this world, _his_ world, seemed wrong.

To make matters worse, thinking of Shizuka made him feel instantly guilty. After that first time she'd sent him a videotape, he'd gotten out an old tape recorder and rambled into it for a while to make a cassette to send back to her since he didn't have a video camera. She'd sent a few more videos over the past three years, but he'd stopped answering and eventually she'd stopped sending them. How could he send tapes back to her when he'd failed her? He'd first joined Hirutani's gang to get money to pay for her operation, but as it turned out, Hirutani had vastly overstated the wealth they could accumulate with the kinds of petty crimes they pulled. Mostly they just beat up rival gangs, posturing for territory and for street cred and for power.

As time went on, Jounouchi had stopped caring about the money that wasn't coming. He _liked_ being in the gang. He liked the power and the feeling of being in control; Lord knew it was the only place in his life where he _had_ any control. Hirutani was their leader, but Jounouchi knew that the rest of the gang looked up to him almost as much. Hell, by high school he could probably oust Hirutani altogether if he had half a mind to. Even kids outside the gang, like Honda, looked up to him and damn that felt good. But Shizuka would never understand that. She would never approve, never get why he needed this so much and a part of him was too ashamed to tell her the truth, and he couldn't make a tape for her and not tell her the truth, so he stopped making tapes and stopped trying to save money for her and tried not to think about her at all.

But now here was this girl that reminded him of her and he was acutely aware that a huge chunk of the gang was pressing around them, waiting to see what he would do, and he certainly wasn't going to be respected as anything close to a leader if they thought he was too chicken to even kiss a girl—which, come to think of it, might have been Hirutani's plan in the first place—so when she gave Jounouchi a nervous smile and said hi, he gave her his best cocky grin, closed his eyes and pretended she was a blonde instead of a redhead, then leaned over and kissed her. When the gang started whooping and catcalling behind him, he whispered in her ear, "Wanna go somewhere more private?" and without waiting for an answer, he pulled her by the arm into Hirutani's dad's den and closed the door behind them.

He was on her as soon as the door was closed, kissing her hard like he'd seen in those videos Hirutani had given him. He had no clue what he was doing and he had to keep his eyes closed and picture her as a blonde to keep going, but it felt good and powerful, almost like fighting. Clumsily, he reached into her shirt, and she backed away with a start.

"N-no, that's a little fast," she said, her voice small and tremulous, but Jounouchi didn't want that powerful feeling to stop, so he pulled her to him and kissed her again, making a move for her shirt once more, this time with a little more force.

It took her a moment, but she managed to twist away from him, pushing hard against his chest. "No! I don't wanna do that!" she said, and before he could grab her again, she stormed out of the den and through his mob of friends, her red hair flying out behind her in a way that made him think of how Shizuka used to run into her bedroom when their father got home. Suddenly it was no longer possible for him to pretend this girl was a blonde.

"Jounouchi, dude, what happened?" Hirutani laughed, and the rest of the gang followed him like sheep, bleating along with him.

"Eh, I was too much man for her," Jounouchi postured, putting all the cockiness he could muster into his voice.

Hirutani stopped laughing and got a cold glint in his eye. "Should we go after her? Teach her who's boss?"

Jounouchi thought of Shizuka running away when their father got home and suppressed a shudder. "Nah," he said breezily. "She's not worth the effort. Stupid worthless bitch."

* * *

It was almost three in the morning when Jounouchi stumbled home. It took him three tries to get the key into the lock and when he finally did he got no further than the living room before he collapsed in a heap. But damn he felt good. After the rough start with the redhead he'd had a few more beers and then switched to Jägermeister, even though he was vaguely aware you weren't supposed to mix drinks. But he was pleasantly surprised to find how easily the alcohol made everything else go away. He didn't think about the girl. He didn't think about Shizuka. He didn't think about Hirutani and who was in charge of the gang, or Rintama or Honda going to Domino, or much of anything at all. He just floated in nothingness, feeling blissful. While other guys who'd had as much to drink as he'd had were sick and throwing up in a corner, he still felt great, like he could take on the world. He knew he should go to bed, so he staggered to his feet and started to head toward his room, but when he passed the kitchen, he thought of the fridge and the beers his father had there. He wavered a moment, unsure what he should do. His father would kill him if any of his precious stash was gone, but the buzz was starting to wear off and Jounouchi wanted it back.

"Fuck it, I need another drink," he decided, then tottered into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. He was practically drooling as soon as his hand was on the bottle. _Damn. No wonder Dad likes this stuff so much!_

As soon as the thought floated through his head, the blissful feeling went away, replaced by a cold dread in the pit of his stomach. Where his mind had been pleasantly blank a moment before, it was now crowded with voices and memories.

_You have done quite a good job into turning him into a little clone of you!_ his mother's voice came to him from the last fight she'd had with his father before she had taken Shizuka and left for good.

_Stupid worthless bitch!_ That was his father, railing about Shizuka and how her vision problems and even her very existence had been the cause of everything that was bad in his life.

_Fuck it, I need another drink_. His father again, the night they'd found out for certain that Shizuka was going to go blind.

Jounouchi's mouth went dry and his hand started shaking. Slowly, he put the beer back into the fridge and then backed away as if it were something alive and feral stalking him. _I'm not like him, I'm _nothing_ like him,_ he thought frantically, but he knew that it wasn't true. He'd abandoned Shizuka, just like their father had, just because she made him feel guilty and powerless and he'd rather fight and drink and feel powerful than take care of her. _Shit. Shit shit shit shit…_ "SHIT!" he screamed, grabbing the nearest thing he could find on the kitchen counter, which turned out to be the lid to a pot, and hurling it across the room. It clattered against the wall and he turned away, the refrigerator coming into view again. That beer, it would make all this go away…

"NO IT WON'T!" he shouted to himself, pounding his fists on the counter. "I AM NOT HIM AND I WILL NOT BECOME HIM!"

A moment later he had the phone in his hand and was dialing. A half-sleepy, half-panicked woman's voice answered, and he asked, "Is Hon—I mean, is Hiroto-kun there?"

There was a brief pause and then Honda's mother started shouting into the phone. Jounouchi pulled it away from his ear but still could catch the gist of her rant about the hour and scaring people in the middle of the night when they had a new grandbaby and thought all manner of things could be happening. Eventually the screaming stopped and Jounouchi put the receiver back to his ear to hear Honda trying to wrestle the phone away from his mother.

"I've got it, Ma, go back to bed."

"You tell your no-good friends they'd better not call in the middle of the night—"

"I know Ma, I'll handle it," Honda assured her, then he was talking into the phone. "Hello?"

"It's me."

"Jesus Christ, Jounouchi, what the hell is the matter with you! It's three o'clock in the goddamn morning, you idiot! My mom is gonna kill us both for this! She thought there was something wrong with the baby!"

"I know, Honda, I know, I'm sorry, but I…" He stopped, not sure what to say.

"What's wrong?" Honda asked, the irritation gone, replaced with concern. "You in jail or something?"

"No, no, nothing like that," Jounouchi assured him. "I… listen, I need your help."

"You got it, bro, whatever you need."

And Jounouchi told him everything, only leaving out anything that had to do with Shizuka. But he told him about the redhead and the beer and his father and how his mother had called him his clone and everything else. "Honda, I have watched my stupid father drink himself into oblivion my whole life and for the first time I _got_ it. It felt so good to just drink everything away. But I… I don't wanna get it and I don't wanna be like him. Not ever. So help me. Don't let me do this again, okay? A beer here and there, fine, whatever, but don't ever let me drink like this again."

"Dude, I'm not your mother," Honda protested.

"I know, but you're… you're my best friend," he said, realizing even as he said it that it was true, even though he'd never said or even thought it before. Prior to this moment, if asked, he would have claimed Hirutani as his best friend.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line. "Okay."

"You'll help me? You'll stop me from doing this again?"

"Yeah, if that's what you want. But you'd better not be a dick about it if I do, okay? _You_ asked."

"No, definitely not, I swear. Thanks, Honda. I owe you man, really."

"Yeah you do. And don't call in the middle of the night anymore or my mom will kill us both."

"I won't."

"Okay, dude. See you at school Monday."

"Yeah, 'bye."

He hung up the phone, already feeling better. Just knowing that he had to be accountable to someone made it easier to walk away from the kitchen and to his bedroom. He was going to flop on the bed and go to sleep with his clothes on, but instead he went to his dresser. Digging through his underwear drawer, he found his stash of videotapes. Not the ones Hirutani had given him, but the _important_ ones. The ones from Shizuka.

There were only four of them, and she'd sent the last one more than a year ago. He took them back out into the living room and put that one in the VCR first. In the video, she was eleven and starting to fill out a little. Her hair was long and loose over her shoulders, but her eyes were sad.

"I miss you, Big Brother. I… I guess you don't have time for a little sister you never see anymore, so I won't bother you again. But I wanted to say good-bye and tell you I love you and I miss you, and anytime you wanna send me a tape, or even a letter if that's easier—I can get someone at school to read it to me. But if you don't wanna, that's okay, too. I understand. Take care, Katsuya."

He wanted to make a tape for her, but he couldn't. She deserved better than him. Better than a drunken imitation of his father. Better than someone who felt up girls who didn't want to be felt up and who beat up other kids just because he could and… better than him.

"I'm sorry, Shizuka-chan," he whispered, putting his hand to the now empty TV screen.

It was four o'clock before he finally went to bed, trying not to think of Shizuka and how he'd let her down and suddenly more than anything he just wanted to get _out_. Out of this apartment, out of Hirutani's gang, out of his _life_. He thought about that for a moment. With high school just a few months away, maybe he _could_ get out. Not out of everything, but out of the gang at least, out from under Hirutani's control.

The more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea. Forget Rintama and the industrial track. Forget Hirutani and the gang. He would go to school with Honda. He would go to Domino High. And for some reason, just deciding that made him feel a little better, as if going to Domino High would somehow completely change his life.

Well, it was a start anyway.


	6. The space between dream and reality

**A/N: **At last, the dawn. :)

**Rating: **T (for mild language)

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**#6 The space between dream and reality**

Jounouchi felt good. No, he felt _great_. He was still dripping wet and shivering and he smelled like, well, like whatever was in that canal, but none of that could dampen how good he felt. He probably shouldn't feel so good, he realized. It's not like he did anything great or noble, and he'd been an ass in the first place, but in the end, he'd owned up to it and made it right. When was the last time he'd done that? Had he ever?

And had he ever felt like this? Not since his parents got divorced. When he had brought Shizuka to the beach that one time, that had felt this good. But since then? He couldn't remember a single time. Getting drunk that time, he'd thought that had felt good, right up until he realized that it meant he really was just a clone of his father. And he'd thought fighting felt good, that wielding that kind of power over others had felt good, but in light of _this_, in light of that sense of knowing he'd done something _right_, even something this small and insignificant, the drunken haze and power trips were nothing. Worse than nothing. It was like when you were a kid and you saw those cheap plastic toys that came in gumball machines, the ones you thought were really cool, but that crumpled after a day and when you saw them next to _real_ toys, the kind only rich kids like that Kaiba guy could afford, you realized how cheap and flimsy and fake the gumball toys really were and that you'd wasted your allowance on _nothing_ so you felt worse than when you had nothing to begin with.

Not that he was the gang-banger he'd once been. He'd actually changed a lot over the past year or so since gradually disentangling himself from Hirutani and his gang, but he and Honda were no saints, either. They weren't above finding guys smaller and weaker than themselves and harassing them just because they could. And he'd thought that that had felt good, too, because it was nice to know even without the gang at his back he still had _some_ power, that some kids still feared him. But that was just gumball-machine-toy good, too. It wasn't real and it was worse than nothing.

He still wasn't sure _why_ he'd done it. There was just something about that Yugi kid, the way he'd jumped—all five feet of him—in front of Ushio (Domino High's very own version of Hirutani), and defended him and Honda, calling them his _friends_. After what they'd done. After what _he'd_ done. It was pathetic, really, and yet… something about the way the kid had said it, the way he'd called them friends made Jounouchi want to be _worthy_ of that. Made him want to be the kind of person who deserved a friend like that. The kind of person he used to be, when he'd risk a week of grounding just to give his sister a day of bliss at the beach.

So without really even giving it much thought, he'd gone back to the canal outside the classroom window where the whole thing had started and just dove right in. It took him a long time to find the small gold puzzle piece in the murky water, and when he finally did find it, he broke the surface with a joyous shout and kissed it like it was buried treasure. At that moment, the water in the canal no longer felt foul; it was Baptismal water and he was being reborn.

He hadn't even bothered to change before going to that funky game shop where the kid lived with his grandpa, a really freaky old dude, and then the deed was done. The puzzle piece had been returned to its rightful owner so he could make his own peace with himself for swiping it in the first place. But mostly he returned it as a way to thank Yugi for… for seeing him as he _could_ be and not as he _was_. And damned if he didn't want to _be_ the person that weird little shrimp saw him as because being that person, even just a little, felt _good_.

It made him think of Shizuka, the only other person in his life who had ever seen him that way, as a reflection of everything he could be instead of all the things that he really was.

It had now been more than two years since he'd had contact with her. Even after extricating himself from Hirutani's gang, he hadn't felt worthy of her. He still was a punk and a bully and a lousy big brother and he couldn't bring himself to even apologize to her because what good would it do? She deserved better than him and he still couldn't think about her without pain. Even now, even in light of how good he felt after doing the right thing for once in his miserable existence, he still couldn't think of his sister without feeling deeply ashamed of everything he'd become.

It was late when he got home. His dad was there, snoring on the couch, his boots still on, one leg and one arm dangling off the side. Bottles and take-out food boxes—the usual décor _chez_ Jounouchi—were everywhere. Jounouchi ignored the clutter and his sleeping, probably passed-out father and went straight to the bathroom where he stripped out of his wet clothes and jumped in the shower. Even the shower felt good, like the grime it washed away wasn't just from the canal but from years of behaving like a dumb punk. After a long time under the hot water, he emerged, clean and new, then dried himself off, went back to his room and put on some clean boxers and pajama bottoms, and climbed into bed.

For a while he lay there, his hands cupped behind his head, thinking of Yugi and his weird golden puzzle. What was that riddle he'd said went with it? _Something seen but not seen._ What the hell did that mean anyway?

_It's simple, Big Brother. It's like _you_. I don't see you anymore, I don't hear from you, and someday I won't see anything at all. But I'll always _see_ you. I'll see you as that boy who took me to the beach just because I wanted to see the ocean._

Jounouchi started, opening his eyes. It took him a moment to realize he'd been drifting off and that Shizuka's voice in his head hadn't been a memory of something she'd actually said, but rather a sort of half dream.

_Something seen but not seen._ Her whole life would be that soon. No matter how good it had felt to set things right with Yugi, this hurt. It hurt to think about her eyesight getting worse and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it. It hurt to think that he'd failed her and that he'd lost touch with her for two whole years. It hurt to think that he wasn't the person he'd been when he'd last seen her, when he was nine and she was seven and a day at the beach could make everything all right. And he was supposed to take her again. He _pinky swore_…

He sat up, rubbing his eyes. If he could make it right with Yugi, someone he barely knew, over something so small as a puzzle piece, he could make it right with his sister, too. Getting out of bed, he went over to his closet. It took him fifteen minutes of digging, but he finally found what he was looking for: his old tape recorder. It even had a tape in it. He sat down cross-legged on the floor, and held the tape recorder in his hands as he tried to think of what to say. After a moment, he clicked on the record button.

"Hey Shizuka-chan, it's me. I… I know you haven't heard from me in really long time. Probably thought I was dead or something, huh?" He gave uneasy chuckle. "Things have been kinda messed up here. You know how it is with dad."

He paused, then sighed. "But… that's not right, either, Shizuka. It wasn't dad, it was _me_. _I_ haven't been right and I was too ashamed to tell you because when I looked in the mirror, I didn't like what I saw, and I didn't want you to see it, too, and I knew you would, even over a recording with just my voice, because you'll always see me, even after…." He stopped again, unable to complete that thought.

"But I think I figured it out. It's like this riddle this guy told me. 'What's something seen but not seen?' That's us. No matter how long we go without seeing each other, I'll always see you in my heart. And if you don't hate me, I hope we can start over. Send me another tape or something; I'd really like to hear from you. I love you and I miss you a lot. And I promise this time I'll send you a tape back.

"I can be better, okay? I can be Big Brother again, the one who took you to the beach and pinky swore I'd take you again. And I will, Shizuka, I promise. Pinky swear."

He clicked the stop button and sat a moment, thinking of Shizuka. And for the first time in two years—maybe the first time in the six years it had been since their mother had taken her away—thinking of her didn't bring him pain. Like doing the right thing, thinking of contacting her again made him feel good.


	7. Superstar

**Rating: **T (language)

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**#7 Superstar**

He gripped the phone with white knuckles. He'd thought he'd psyched himself up for the possibility that _she_ would answer the phone, but just the word "Hello" had sent him reeling. He was completely and utterly unprepared for how it would feel to hear the sound of his mother's voice after six years.

_I love you, Katsuya, remember that. I'll always love you. Be good_.

"Hello?" she repeated, sounding a little annoyed.

_Katsuya?_

_No, Ma, _wait!

"Is anyone there?" She was really irritated now, and if he didn't say something quickly she was going to hang up and Jounouchi sure as hell didn't think he'd be able to summon the nerve to dial the number again.

"Uh… hello… I… uh… is Shizuka there?"

There was a pause, and her voice sounded more relaxed, maybe even a little amused as she asked, "May I ask who's calling?"

"Uh…" _Shit!_ He should've known she'd ask who he was before just handing the phone off to Shizuka. "Uh… I'm… my name's… uh… Tomoya. Yeah, Tomoya. From her school." _Yeah, real smooth, Jounouchi. That didn't sound made up at all._

"Just a minute."

He heard her call Shizuka's name, but it was muffled, like she was covering the mouthpiece with her hand. After a moment, despite the muffling, he heard her say in a rather amused, somewhat teasing voice, "This one's name is Tomoya. He sounds very nervous."

He took a deep breath, mentally chastising himself for being so jumpy. He was about to become the hero, after all, and—

Wait_. This one? _ Was it a common occurrence for Shizuka to receive phone calls from boys at school? The concept rammed into his brain like Kaiba's Blue-Eyes taking out Baby Dragon. She was only _thirteen_! His lip curled at the thought of a bunch of drooling adolescent punks even so much as _thinking _about his sister, let alone—

"Hello?"

He froze again. He'd heard her voice a million times over the videotapes she'd been sending and he replayed endlessly, but this was actually _her_, in real time, a live voice he could actually converse with. He swallowed, realizing she sounded confused and vaguely suspicious at the unfamiliar name.

"Shizuka, it's me."

She sucked in her breath. "Oh my God," she said, and then recovered so quickly it made him wonder how she was so practiced at deception. "Oh _Tomoya_, hello!" Then the phone was muffled again and he heard her say, "_Mo_ther, _please!_ This is _pri_vate!" There was some more background sounds, like shuffling around, and he imagined her cocooning herself into a coat closet to escape their mother's prying ears. After a moment of this, she returned, her voice clear again, but whispering. "Big Brother? Is it really you?"

"It's really me," he said, grinning and starting to relax a little.

"Have you gone completely _insane_?" she hissed. "What if Dad—"

"What am I, an idiot?" he interrupted. "I'm not calling from home. I'm at a friend's house." He looked around him, feeling out of place by himself in Yugi's freakishly tidy bedroom. Honda must've told Yugi and Anzu about his dad, because they didn't even question why there was no way in hell he could call from his own apartment. Yugi had merely offered him his phone, and then the three of them beat a hasty retreat to give him privacy. "It's all good Shizuka," Jounouchi assured her.

"Are you serious? You're calling me on the _phone!_ Mom will have _kittens_ if she finds out—"

"She's gonna find out soon enough," he cut her off again. "Sis, I have something to tell you. Something important."

She paused. "Is Dad… did something happen to Dad?"

He snorted. "We should be so lucky."

"Katsuya!" she scolded.

"What? You know everyone's lives would be better if—"

"Big Brother, stop, don't say such horrible things! Not even… not even about _him_."

He sighed. "Never mind that. I've got good news, Sis. _Great_ news." He paused, savoring the moment.

"Yeah?" she prompted.

"I got the money."

Another pause. "What money?"

"For your operation. You can have the operation. You're gonna get your eyesight back!"

There was yet another pause, longer this time, and when she spoke again he was surprised at how dark her voice sounded. "That's not funny."

"You think I'd _joke_ about something like that?" he asked, taken aback. "That I'd call you on the _phone_ just to joke about _that_? I'm dead serious. I have the money for your operation."

"That… that's not possible. Do you have any idea how much it would cost?"

"Of course I know how much it costs! I've only been researching this stuff online at school ever since you told me about it. Did you know the best specialist works out of a hospital just a train ride away from here? I know Ma will hate it, but you'll have to come here and—"

"Big Brother, you couldn't possibly have that kind of money!"

"Wanna bet?" He then told her exactly how much money he did have and she sucked in her breath again.

"How did you get that kind of money?"

"I didn't steal it, if that's what you're thinking," he huffed defensively.

"Well of course you didn't steal it, I know that!" she cried. "You would never!"

He lowered his eyes, looking at the worn rug on Yugi's bedroom floor. He would, of course, and _had_, just not _this_ time. But she would never think such a thing of him and it made him feel guilty for not having lived up to her expectations. He swallowed, reminding himself that he wasn't that person that she would despise. Not anymore.

"But come on, how on earth could you… did Dad win at the track or—oh never mind, that's a stupid question. Like any of us would see a single yen if he'd won that kind of money."

"No, and he doesn't know anything about this, all right? And he won't, at least not until I can get a cashier's check to you and Ma so he can't touch it."

"But Big Brother, so _much_! Where did it come from?"

"Ever hear of Duel Monsters?"

"The card game?"

"Yeah. I've been learning to play and gotten pretty good, too. Well, a lot of it is just dumb luck, I s'pose, but still… I just got back from this really big tournament on this island called Duelist Kingdom—"

"Duelist Kingdom?" she asked, sounding surprised. "You were _at_ Duelist Kingdom?"

Jounouchi's mouth dropped open. "You've heard of Duelist Kingdom?"

"What, I live in a cave? Of course I've heard of it! Most of the guys and half the girls at school are talking about it, how some kid, Yoshi or something, came out of nowhere and beat the guy who created the game."

"Yugi, Mutou Yugi," Jounouchi corrected, then proudly added, "He's my best friend. Or one of my best friends anyway," he amended quickly, thinking of Honda and even of Anzu and Bakura.

"Get out!"

"I'm serious!" He paused. "But wait. If you've heard about Duelist Kingdom, you must've heard about me being there."

"Not hardly."

"Oh come _on_! You saying everyone's talking about Yugi but no one's even _mentioned_ my name? Are you sure?"

"I think I would've remembered if people started talking about my own brother. Why would they, anyway?"

"'Cause I only won _second_ place, that's all," he beamed.

"Second— get _out_!"

"No, really!"

"And… are you saying that's where you got the money? You got _that_ kind of money for _second_ place?"

"Not exactly," he said. "I didn't get nothing for getting second place, not from that lousy cheat Pegasus anyway."

"So then where did the money come from?"

"Okay, here's the thing," he sighed. "There were two prizes for the winner—there was the money for whoever beat all the other players and, well, sorta like a wish granted if the winner beat Pegasus. I needed the money and Yugi needed the wish, so we made a deal. We entered together, to increase our chances of winning, and if either of us won, I'd take the money and he'd take the wish. And, well, Yugi won."

It hadn't happened _exactly_ like that, but close enough for his purposes. It was a given that Jounouchi would've asked for the return of Grandpa's soul, and even the souls of the Kaiba brothers had he won, but prior to his winning they'd never actually discussed what Yugi would do with the money and it never crossed Jounouchi's mind that his friend would actually just _give_ it all to him. But after Yugi had beat him in the final, when Jounouchi had tried to return his card, the one that would let him claim the money, Yugi had refused, and he'd refused in that slightly confused way that was so _Yugi_, like it went without saying that he would give Jounouchi the money, that of _course_ that had been the plan all along. Never mind that Jounouchi owed Yugi for getting him into the tournament in the first place and for giving him the card necessary for admittance into the finals. Never mind that he would've lost his very first duel had it not been for Yugi. No, in Yugi's mind it had been a foregone conclusion that the money would go to Jounouchi for Shizuka's surgery. And while Jounouchi was loath to take any credit for his friend's generosity, he had a fine line to walk here. No matter how much his mother hated him, she wouldn't refuse his help; he wasn't so sure she would accept help from a stranger, however.

And really, he had gone to Duelist Kingdom first and foremost to help Yugi. He'd _dueled_ for his sister, yes, but he _went_ for Yugi and he _would've_ asked for Grandpa's soul back and they really _were_ a team, so was it wrong of him to think that he really _had_ helped win the money? That he really _was_ the hero here?

He realized Shizuka was being awfully quiet. "Shizuka?" he asked. "You still there?"

"You're really serious, aren't you?"

"I'm really serious," he confirmed. "Tell Ma to start calling the doctors and schedule you an appointment."

"Oh my God. Oh my God, you're really serious, I'm really gonna…" And then he heard her start to cry. Not just sniffle, either, like he'd imagined she would, little tears of joy trickling down her cheeks, but great heaving sobs and he was alarmed.

"Shizuka! What's wrong?"

"Oh Big Brother, I don't know what to say," she wept softly.

"You don't have to say anything, Shizuka! I'd do anything for you, you know that! I've been trying for years to figure out how to get you that operation!"

"I know, but… I'm scared."

This threw him. "Scared? What, scared that it won't work? Everything I've read about it said it's almost certain—"

"No, Big Brother. Scared that it _will_."

Of all the possible reactions he'd imagined while envisioning himself riding up on his white horse to deliver her salvation on a silver platter, this had never even remotely occurred to him. "Say what?"

"You… you don't understand," she moaned, then started talking in a rush. "My whole life has been about my eyesight, you know? Doctors and procedures and then, eventually, just… just accepting it. Accepting it and learning to be blind. I go to a school for the blind! I never thought, never allowed myself to hope…. I don't know how to _be_ anything else but blind. What… what will I do if I'm _not_?"

"What do you mean? You'll do anything you want!"

"But… what if I can't? What if being the Poor Little Brave Almost-Blind Girl was all I ever was?"

"What… you think _that's_ all you are?"

"It's all our _entire family_ has been about since the day I was born, and you know it! It's why Mom and Dad got divorced, it's why Mom left you behind—"

"No," he cut her off, grinding his teeth, his anger rising up from his stomach and burning his throat. "No, you're wrong. Don't you _ever_ think that, Sis, not ever. Mom and Dad's problems are _their_ problems. It was convenient for Dad to blame you because that's the kind of irresponsible bastard he is, but you didn't screw him up, believe me. I know I was only two when you were born, but I _remember_. Things were pretty f— uh, pretty screwed up before you were born. You made it _better_, okay? For as long as it possibly could be given what a selfish jerk he is, you just being here made it _better_." _And I'm so gonna _kill_ that goddamn son of a bitch for making her think it was her fault, so help me God, I'm gonna…_

"But what… what if the operation works and all of the sudden I can see, I mean really _see_, then what? What will I be if I'm not 'the blind girl'?"

He gaped, staring at the phone, his mouth working wordlessly before he finally said, "Are you _kidding_ me? Shizuka, do you know why I got second place at Duelist Kingdom? 'Cause I shouldn't have. I'm actually not that good, or I wasn't at first anyway. I shouldn't have gotten past the first duel. Hell, I wasn't even supposed to be allowed on the damn boat. But I did it because of you. Because you've always believed in me no matter how crappy I've been or how stupid. Anytime it seemed too hard or I thought I should just give up, I thought of you and how you always believe in me, and I just kept going, all the way to _second_ place. If you could do that for _me_, Sis, imagine what you could do for yourself if you believed you could!"

She sniffed. "Really? Do you really think so?"

"Do I… You're Jou—you're Kawai Shizuka," he corrected. "You can do _anything_."

She was silent for a moment, and he could tell she was chewing on this. "Big Brother… will you come to the hospital?"

"Just try and stop me." He grinned. "Way I figure, if I'm paying for it, Ma'll have to let me come. Hell, I don't think she could even complain if I called or if we visited each other now and then. This is gonna change everything, Sis, just wait and see."

She giggled and it made his heart soar. "Wait and _see_, huh?"

"You bet."

"So… this is real? It's really gonna happen?"

"It's really gonna happen."

"And you'll be there?"

"I pinky swear, Sis."

"I… oh, this is just too unbelievable! You… you have to tell Mom!"

His heart sunk back down past its usual spot all the way to his feet and he started shaking his head even though she couldn't see him over the phone. "Oh no, I'm not talking to her. You tell her."

"But it's your money!"

"She… I… just… no. You tell Ma; I have nothing to say to her."

"Katsuya…"

"I'm serious, Shizuka. Do you have any idea what it was like the day you left?"

"I was there," she bristled.

"But you didn't get _left_, did you? I was calling for you, calling for her and she just turned her back on me and drove out of my life. I could forgive that if it were just her, Sis, but she drove _you_ out of my life. And that I can't forgive."

"Big Brother," she whispered, her voice so sad it nearly broke his resolve.

"No, listen, don't be sad. This is a happy day, okay? We're gonna celebrate now. And here, do you have something to write with? I want you to take down this number."

"I'm in a coat closet," she said, and he smiled at himself for guessing right. "Where would I—oh wait, my school bag is in here, I should have my mini tape recorder I use for notes at school. Hold on." There was some shuffling sounds again, and when she came back, he gave her Yugi's phone number then listened as she repeated it back into her tape recorder, trying not to let the fact that she was using that instead of writing it down bother him. Soon she would have her operation and she'd be able to read the fine print on a used car ad.

"If you need to get a hold of me, or if Ma has any questions, you can leave a message here with Yugi or his grandpa so you don't have to worry about Dad, okay?" he told her. "Just be looking for a cashier's check in the mail, Sis. It'll be in your name. I'll call you in a few days to make sure you got it and to find out what's going on with the operation."

"It'll be a while yet," she told him. "There's a whole bunch of treatments that have to happen first, so the actual surgery might not be until next year, but… oh Big Brother…"

"Aw man, please don't cry again," he begged her.

"I… I'm not, really. It's just… thank you," she whispered. "Thank you so much. Not for the money, although you'll never know how much I appreciate that. But for… for everything. For saying you'll be there. I couldn't do it without you. You're my hero, you know that? You've always been my hero."

When Jounouchi emerged from Yugi's bedroom to find the others downstairs in the game shop helping Gramps straighten up, he was so full of exuberance that, much to their chagrin, he picked up Yugi and swung him around like a rag doll, hugged Honda like a girl, ruffled Grandpa's hair, and even grabbed Anzu and kissed her full on the lips, earning himself a slug in the jaw for his trouble. That girl could _hit_. But aching jaw notwithstanding, he just couldn't contain his joy. His sister wasn't going to go blind and he really did get to be the hero even if Yugi had won the money and not him, because at the end of the day, when she finally would go in for the operation that would change everything, _he_ was the one she needed to have by her side.


	8. Our own world

**Rating: **T (mild language)

* * *

**#8 Our own world**

He sat in the hard plastic chair beside her bed, watching her slowly wake up from the anesthesia. His back hurt and the right half of his ass had fallen asleep, but he didn't dare move and risk not being here when she woke up, not after he'd screwed up so bad this morning by almost not coming at all. If Honda hadn't knocked some sense into him….

But he was here _now_ and he leaned forward anxiously as she started to stir, though with the bandages wrapped across her eyes, it was hard to tell if she really was waking or not.

Across from him in a chair much like his own, his mother leaned over, too.

His mother. It had been seven years since he'd seen her last, when she'd piled Shizuka into the car and turned her back on him. Until this morning, he hadn't even talked to her, not even when she'd called and left messages with Yugi's grandfather to let them know when the operation would be. He'd call regularly himself now that he'd bought that right with the money that paid for Shizuka's new shot at life, but he would always ask for Shizuka and never talk to their mother.

Why should he? _He's_ not the one who left _her_ behind.

But this morning, for Shizuka's sake, Jounouchi had mustered up enough of… something… to tell her it was good to see her. It wasn't, not really. Mostly it was painful and awkward and frustrating. But it wasn't like he was in any position to be withholding forgiveness, especially not after last night and this morning, nearly abandoning his own sister over something as stupid as a lost Duel Monsters card, after he'd _promised_ he'd be here for her. So now, as he met his mother's eyes across Shizuka's bed, he managed a weak smile and she gave him one in return that was just as weak; an uneasy truce for two people who both had much to be forgiven for.

Shizuka groaned and they both jumped, but it was their mother who got to her first. "Shizuka, I'm here sweetie. Mama's here."

Shizuka groaned again and turned her head. "Mama?"

"I'm here."

"Katsuya…" she said. "I want Katsuya-_Onii-chan_."

He was just petty enough to flash his mother a victorious smile as he grabbed his sister's hand. "I'm right here, Shizuka-chan. I'm not going anywhere."

"I'm scared, Big Brother. And I'm thirsty."

"You can't have anything to drink, not yet," Ma interjected quickly, "But you can suck on some ice chips. I'll go get some from the nurse if you'd like."

She nodded. "Please?"

"Okay, I'll be right back," she said, getting up and slipping out the door, leaving Jounouchi and Shizuka alone.

Alone with his sister. In person. For the first time in seven years.

He squeezed her hand. "You're gonna be fine, Sis. The doctors said everything went really well. You need to keep your bandages on for a few days, but then your vision should be perfect."

She clutched his hand, turning her bandaged face toward him. "I'm so scared, Big Brother. What if it didn't work? What if it's worse than before? Or what if it did work and I don't know _how_ to see?"

"Shhh," he soothed gently, lifting her hand and kissing the back of it gently, then leaning over her so his forehead was pressed to hers. "Don't think about any of that, Shizuka. Just… think about the ocean. I promised I'd take you again to see the ocean, remember? Just like that day on the beach, just you and me."

"I remember," she said.

They were still for a moment and then Shizuka said, "Big Brother, I know you have that tournament starting tomorrow and you need to prepare. You don't have to stay here and baby-sit me."

"I'm not going anywhere, not until they kick me out when visiting hours are over tonight, okay? Tomorrow I'm a duelist, but today? Today I'm Big Brother. That's enough."


	9. Dash

**Author's Note:**

For this series, whenever possible, I try to follow the Japanese anime continuity, with background info from the manga thrown in for extra flavor. However, I don't speak Japanese and I don't have ready access to the Japanese episodes, so for some things, I have to rely rather heavily on the dubs. The dialogue in this chapter comes from the dub for the most part and hopefully isn't too far off from what was said in the original Japanese. If it is, mea culpa.

But I do have to say, one of my personal amusements with the dub is the repeated use of the line, "Talk later, run now!" It's the _Yu-gi-oh_ dub version of "I have a bad feeling about this" from _Star Wars._ And it's a natural match for the theme "Dash."

So, um, yeah. Beware of dubness.

**Rating: **K+

* * *

**#9 Dash**

It came as something of an epiphany to her that despite the fact that her brother was the most important person in her life, she really didn't know all that much about him or _his_ life. This realization came to her as she clung to his friend Honda—a boy she'd only met a few days before—her arms wrapped tightly around his neck, his arms clutching her legs as he tried to simultaneously keep her perched on his back and run like hell away from whoever it was that was chasing them.

They'd been on their way to find Katsuya and his friends Yugi and Anzu. Her brother and Yugi were both doing well in the Battle City tournament and would probably make the finals, and she wanted to be there to see her brother duel. She wanted to take her bandages off with him there and have that be the first thing she saw. But one second Honda was apologizing to her for not having agreed on a meeting place before he'd gone to pick her up and then the next second he'd just stopped and she could feel him stiffen at her side and she knew they weren't alone. He pulled her to him protectively

"What are you looking at?" he growled. "Who are you punks, and whadda you want from us?"

"Honda, what's going on?" she asked, but he didn't answer, he just turned and pushed her behind him, then barked, "Why don't you just keep moving. We don't want any trouble."

"You might not want any trouble, but we do," came the reply.

"Shizuka, get on my back," Honda hissed, bending over in front of her, and she obeyed, throwing her arms around his shoulders as he grabbed her legs and hoisted her up, piggy back, and then started to run.

It was terrifying, not being able to see or run on her own because of the bandages wrapped around her face, trusting her fate to this boy with the nice voice but whom she didn't really know outside of the warm way her brother had talked about him. Honda was grunting from the exertion of carrying her weight as well as his own and she knew he couldn't keep this up for long. The air got suddenly cooler and the sounds of their footfalls started echoing back at her and she knew they'd entered some sort of tunnel, and then there was another menacing voice echoing there, too, only from _ahead_ of them. Honda stopped short backed up slowly until she felt a cold concrete wall at her back.

"What are we gonna do, Honda?" she asked, gripping the shoulders of his jacket in fear.

"You're coming with us," the thug in front of them answered for him, but Honda wasn't going to give up without a fight.

He slowly lowered her to the ground and stood in front of her and then the next thing she knew, there was a scuffle and she heard punches being thrown. Someone grabbed her arm—_not_ Honda—and she screamed and then… well, she wasn't sure what exactly happened then, except there was a new voice issuing threats that didn't seem directed at her or Honda but at their assailants. Her arm was released, there was more scuffling, Honda said, "Otogi?" and then he was hoisting her onto his back again.

"What's going on, Honda?" the new voice asked, echoing her own confused thoughts.

"Talk later, run now!" Honda bit out and they were running again with the new guy behind them.

They ducked around a few corners and then the new guy said, "Hey, let's hide in there," and then Honda was hoisting her into the open bed of a truck where they all hunched down to hide, Honda and the other boy, who was obviously a friend of his, moving away from her toward the back of the truck to confer in quiet whispers.

"Who's the girl?" the new guy asked Honda.

"Watch it Otogi, she's off limits! Remember Jounouchi? That's his sister," Honda warned.

"Jounouchi's _sister_? How can _Jounouchi_ have such a cute sister?"

Shizuka would've rolled her eyes if she could. She had bandages over her _eyes_, not her _ears_. Did they honestly think she couldn't hear them? _Guess what guys, that adage about other senses becoming stronger to make up for one that's lost? Totally true._

"So who were those guys and why were they chasing you?" Otogi asked in the same whisper she could hear quite clearly.

"Rare Hunters."

"Rare Hunters? Why the hell would Rare Hunters be after you?"

"I have no idea. They're watching Yugi, of course, but what would they want with me and Shizuka? We don't have any rare cards."

Cold fear settled into Shizuka's stomach. This was over _cards_? And hadn't Katsuya run into trouble over some card the night before her operation, the night he never showed? She gave up trying to pretend she wasn't listening and felt her way along the truck bed toward the two boys. "If those guys were chasing us, does that mean…"

"They're after the others, too," Honda confirmed grimly.

_Big Brother! _ Shizuka gripped Honda's arm. "Honda, please, tell me what's going on. Why would people do this for _cards_? What has my brother gotten himself into?" When he didn't answer, she prompted, "Honda?"

"I'm not sure," he said at last. "I'm guessing it has something to do with Yugi and his Millennium Puzzle. It usually does."

"His what?"

"It's a long story. Ask your brother when we find him."

"Speaking of, we should probably get going while the coast is clear," Otogi suggested.

"Yeah," Honda agreed. "Let's just hope luck is on our side and we don't run into them again."

At the mention of the word "luck," Shizuka automatically reached for the five-yen coin she wore on a chain around her neck. She dug it out from under her shirt and kissed it for good luck. _Keep us safe. Keep Big Brother safe._

"You ready, Shizuka?" Honda asked. "Let's go find your brother and Yugi and Anzu."

"I'm ready," she nodded, but she wasn't sure she really was. Something big was going on here, something bigger than cards and tournaments, and her brother was right in the middle of it. She had the feeling when they found him that everything she ever thought she knew about her brother would be turned on its end. He lived in a different world than she did, she realized, and she was suddenly terrified at the thought of entering it.

But…

This was Katsuya, her big brother. Anywhere he was, that's where she belonged, too. Even if it meant her world would never be the same.


	10. 10

**Author's note:**

My first ever drabble! So naturally, I have to write notes that are longer than the theme itself!

The events of Battle City present some really different challenges than pre-canon, where we only saw little bits and flashes and there are so many holes to fill. That lends itself to a more traditional narrative style.

Battle City, on the other hand, is pretty solidly explored in canon with very few holes to fill. And yet, it's the only time in canon where Jounouchi and Shizuka spend any significant amount of time together (and it's the first time in seven years they're together at all) so I didn't want to gloss over it either. Not to mention the fact that some really major events happen to them.

So… for the next several themes, the writing style will be less narrative and more esoteric; an exploration of Jounouchi's and Shizuka's reactions to the events with which fans are already well familiar. It's something of an experiment, so if it doesn't work… well, it's better than a straight retelling of canon, 'cause (yawn).

**Rating: **K

**

* * *

**

**#10 #10**

The first thing Jounouchi did when Honda and Otogi hauled him out of the water onto the solid wood boards of the Number Ten pier was kiss the wood planks. He'd never been so happy to be on something _solid_, to be out of the water and able to _breathe_.

The second thing he did was sweep Shizuka, who had been hauled out of the water just before him, into a huge bear hug. He held her in his arms, grateful to have her in his life.

He'd always wanted to be her hero, but today, she was _his_ hero.


	11. Gardenia

**Rating: **K+

* * *

**  
#11 Gardenia**

It was somewhat disconcerting to Jounouchi to have his sisters and his friends all in one place. They'd been completely distinct parts of his life for pretty much ever—as a child, he'd been too embarrassed about what his friends would think if they knew he was close to his kid sister; when he was older, he was too ashamed of his life to want Shizuka to even know about it, much less be a part of it. So now he watched his separate worlds collide and it felt surreal, but it felt good, too, to have done things he could be proud of, to have friends he wasn't ashamed of and who accepted Shizuka into their midst as if she had always been one of them, and to not be embarrassed when his little sister hugged him and kissed him on the cheek right in front of them.

Okay, maybe a _little_ embarrassed.

The weirdest thing, though, was how chummy she'd gotten with Mai, having somehow bonded during their ten-minute car ride to the pier. He was absurdly pleased; for some reason he couldn't fathom, it was _really_ important to him for his sister to like Mai. But still, it was… weird. He couldn't think of two people who were more dissimilar. Shizuka was like a gardenia, garden-cultivated, carefully tended and pruned and shielded from weeds and pests. Mai was more like a wild orchid, exotic and lovely but hardy and resilient and needing only the sun and the rain nature provided to thrive.

It wasn't until Yugi's duel with Bakura and the reemergence of the Spirit of the Ring that it occurred to Jounouchi just exactly how much danger he'd put Shizuka in by bringing her into his world, and by then it was too late to send her away. And it wasn't until much later that he began to understand that wild orchids could be much more fragile than they appeared and gardenias could possess a surprising strength.


	12. In a good mood

**Rating: **K+

**

* * *

**

**#12 In a good mood**

She was supposed to be in a good mood. Between the successful operation, getting to be with her big brother again, meeting his friends and having them accept her as their own…

Shizuka took a deep breath, willing the cheerfulness she was supposed to be feeling into her voice.

"It's been so great getting to meet all of my brother's friends, especially you, Mai," she said, admiring the pretty blonde woman beside her. "I don't wanna sound like a lame fangirl or anything, but you are the coolest person I've ever met. So pretty, so together, so tough. You can beat anything, I can tell. And I know that I'm just a kid, so I really appreciate you being so nice to me and hanging out with me and everything.

"You know, the last time I saw my brother, he was nine, so he had to be all cool in front of his friends, pretend he didn't like me or anything. But when we were alone, he was the best. He always looked out for me, always took me to fun places like the mall or the park and junk. Once, he took me to the beach and we spent the whole day there. We weren't supposed to go there on our own and boy did he get in trouble when we got home! But he didn't even care. He was always just thinking of me and things I wanted.

"Getting separated was really hard. I know why my mom did it, but still. It would've been so much better if she could've taken him, too. It was hard staying in touch over the years, but we did, and now it's so amazing to be with him again. I can't even tell you.

"And his friends! You guys are all so cool and have been so nice to me. And… don't tell my brother I said this, 'cause it would totally freak him out, but oh boy, that Honda, he's even cuter than his voice! And so sweet! And Otogi, too. They've been so nice to me, but… well, Mai, I'll be honest with you. They make me a little nervous. I'm not used to being around boys, especially not after I got taken away from Big Brother.

"I'll bet you're never nervous around guys, are you? You have to teach me, okay? Teach me to be confident and cool and not nervous with the boys like you. Promise?"

She looked around her to make sure no one else was listening, but the only other person in the room was Rishid, and of course he couldn't possibly overhear them, so Shizuka leaned closer to Mai. "Don't tell my brother I told you this either, Mai, but he really likes you. A lot. I know I haven't really had a chance to see how he is around girls before—when he was nine he thought all girls were stupid, you know? But I see how he looks at you, and it isn't the same way he looks at Anzu. I know he's just sixteen and you're older and everything, and he's such a total dork, but he really cares about you. In your duel when it all got so _scary_ and you… and he…" She blinked several times before continuing. "Well, you know."

She took another fortifying breath, then continued brightly, "And you care about him, too, don't you? Come on, 'fess up. You're the one who told me he could be charming when he wanted to be, right? And how at Duelist Kingdom all he could talk about was winning the prize money for my operation. You have to admit, that's a pretty amazing thing he did for me. I mean, look at me, Mai! If I would've met you a few weeks ago, you would've been nothing more than this big yellow and white and purple blur, but now I can see everything so clearly, all because of my brother. I can see how pretty you are, how your hair isn't the same blond all over but has bits that are lighter here and darker there. Heck, I can even read the fine print on that IV bag! How's that for twenty-twenty vision?

"The thing is, Mai, it's only since coming here and seeing all the stuff that's going on that I realized that my brother did more than just try and win a card game for me. He really risked everything didn't he? I know that now. And… and he's doing it again, Mai. For you." She reached over and took Mai's hand in hers and squeezed. "He's going to find a way to bring you back. I promise."

The cell phone on the nightstand rang, a shrill sound that made Shizuka jump. She picked it up. "Hello?"

"Hey Shizuka, it's Mokuba. I just wanted to let you know your brother's about to duel." He paused, and she could feel the hesitation before he added, "He'll be going up against Marik."

Shizuka swallowed. Marik. The same person who had defeated Mai and left her in this strange coma that wasn't really a coma. After spending so much time watching over Mai since she'd lost to Marik, Shizuka could almost _feel_ the dark energy around her that made this so much worse than just being comatose.

"Anyway," Mokuba continued, "we figured you'd wanna come out to the tower and watch."

She felt her throat catch. She did want to watch, more than anything. She wanted to be there for her brother, to cheer for him as he took out that sadistic creep. But she looked down at the bed in front of her. "No, Mokuba, I think I'll stay on the ship with Mai. My brother would want to know someone's looking out for her. Tell him good luck for me, though."

"Will do," Mokuba confirmed, then Shizuka clicked END and put the cell phone back on the nightstand.

She looked down at Mai, disturbed by how troubled the older woman looked. Weren't people in comas supposed to look peaceful? Mai looked like she was having a disturbing dream. But Shizuka took another breath and screwed on another smile. "That was Mokuba, Mai, and guess what? Big Brother is dueling Marik. He's gonna kick his butt, too, just you wait and see. And then everything will be fine, I just know it." She leaned forward and kissed Mai on the forehead, then sat back down and smoothed out the hair framing Mai's face.

After a moment, her gaze drifted away from Mai toward the window; she could see the Duel Tower in the distance, where the rest of the Battle City Finals would be played. _Everything has to be fine,_ she thought, clenching her hands in her lap. _I can't lose my big brother, not now, not after just getting him back. Please let him win. Please let everything be all right. I still need him._

She closed her eyes and bowed her head, willing back the tears and the fear, reminding herself that she could see and she was together with her brother again. She was supposed to be in a _good_ mood.


	13. Excessive chain

Thanks to **Yu-Jyo**'s Cody for the English translation of the Japanese dialogue and how it differs from the dub version.

**Rating: **K+

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**#13 Excessive Chain**

_Her brother falling, fighting Rishid. _

_Her brother kneeling down, trying but failing to protect Mai. _

_Her brother falling, but he doesn't get up this time._

Over and over the scenes played in Shizuka's mind.

Her brother falling, and Rishid falling too. _Get up, Jounouchi!_ the others had screamed, and he had. That time. But not Rishid.

Mai. Oh, God, Mai. Her brother protecting Mai. Yugi protecting her brother. All of it for nothing. Yugi falling, her brother kneeling down beside him, Mai falling… Yugi got up, and her brother got up that time, too. But not Mai.

Bakura fell, too, though they didn't see it happen.

Ra attacking. She was at the bottom of the tower running up the stairs, and when she got there, her brother was somehow, impossibly, standing. He summoned something; she didn't understand the game well enough to know what, but he should've won. He _would've_ won, that much she knew. It's what they all said.

But then he fell. And this time, he didn't get up.

She knelt at his bedside, ignoring the flurry of activity around her. Honda was shouting at the doctor; that was hard to ignore. But the rest faded away. Just her and her brother.

_Falling._

_Rishid, falling._

_Mai, falling._

_Her brother, falling. _

She squeezed his hand, leaned over and kissed it. "Wake up, Big Brother, please wake up…"

Yugi appeared beside her and gently took her brother's hand from her so he could slip the duel disk onto his arm. "I'm going back to the duel ring where Kaiba is waiting," he said. "Jounouchi-kun, please keep fighting here, as a true duelist."

_He has a deep voice for someone so small,_ she thought randomly, and then she realized what he was saying. He was going to duel. Another link in the chain of darkness.

Her brother. Rishid. Mai. Bakura. Her brother again. And now Yugi, too?

She squeezed her brother's hand again, then rested her head against the bed and started to cry.


	14. Radiocassette player

Another drabble!

**Rating: **K

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**#14 Radio-cassette player**

There was a radio-cassette player in the corner of the infirmary. Shizuka wished she had his tapes with her, the ones he'd sent her when they were living apart. She wanted to play them so she could hear his voice. She was tired of Honda's voice, alternately begging and threatening. She was tired of Otogi's voice, pragmatic and hopeless. She was tired of Anzu's voice, always believing but not _doing_ anything to make him okay. She wanted _her brother's voice_. She wanted him to open his eyes, get up, kiss her cheek, and tell her that everything would be fine.


	15. Perfect blue

And yet another drabble! With another thanks to **Yu-Jyo**'s Cody for the English translation of the Japanese dialogue.

**Rating: **K

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**#15 Perfect Blue**

The god-monster on top of the tower was blue. That's when Honda dragged her brother to the window. "Open your eyes and look! Yugi—_our_ Yugi—is fighting!"

The three dragon-monsters had blue eyes, although it was the other one, with the red eyes, that made all the difference.

Anzu's eyes were blue and round as she gasped, realizing.

But nothing, _nothing_ could match the perfect blue of the sky at the exact moment Shizuka's brother opened his eyes and she fell into his arms and he held her, kissing the top of her head, and she could breathe again.


	16. Invincible

**Rating: **K+

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**#16 Invincible**

Shizuka walked through the town of her childhood beside her brother as the last glow of twilight faded and streetlights winked on around them. It was so good to be back in Domino after everything that had happened on the air ship and on Kaiba's island fortress. She wished she could stay, but the sun had already been setting when they'd landed at the pier and her mother—their mother—was staying in a hotel near the hospital out of town. They were headed for the train station and Katsuya was going to take the train back with her to drop her off. He and his friends had school in the morning, so she felt bad for keeping him out so late, but she hoped to convince her mother to let her stay through Sunday instead of returning to Tokyo right away. Anzu had offered to show her around Domino so she could see how it had changed since she moved away seven years ago.

When they reached the train station, she realized that her brother was being rather quiet. She was about to tell him that he didn't have to take the train all the way out with her and all the way back, that seeing her to the station was good enough, when he suddenly turned to her, his head hung low, shaggy hair shielding his eyes from her view.

"Shizuka, I… I'm so sorry."

She frowned, her nose wrinkling. "Sorry? What for?"

He looked up and she could see in his eyes that he was surprised she had to ask. "Whaddaya mean 'what for?' Sis… I… everything… and you coulda been… I shoulda never let you on that air ship. Anything coulda happened."

She smiled, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You have nothing to apologize for, Big Brother. Don't you understand what a gift you've given me?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, you got your eyesight back, but fat lotta good it woulda done if you'd wound up….'

She shook her head. "I don't mean that, although you know how grateful I am. You let me see, Big Brother. And then, you let me _really _see. I thought… this thing you do… this game… I thought it was just a game. I thought you liked being a champion and everything, and I know you went to Duelist Kingdom to get the money for my operation, but now I know how much more to it there is, and…." She blinked, fighting back tears. "I had no idea."

"I know, and it shoulda stayed that way," he bit out, angry at himself again. "It was crazy to bring you along just 'cause I wanted you to see me duel. I knew it could be like this. I knew, and I let you come. I'm a horrible brother."

"You're missing the whole point," she said, folding her arms, "so would you just shut up and listen?" Her scolding surprised him and his mouth snapped closed.

"You've always been my hero, you know that? You've always watched out for me. You kept me safe from Dad. You made me laugh. You even took me to the beach just because I wanted to see the ocean. So, you know, as surprised as I was when you called and said you'd won the money, in a way, I wasn't really surprised at all. I think… I think a part of me always knew you would come through for me because you always do. You've always been there for me, even when we were apart."

"I wish that were—"

"I'm not finished!" she snapped, and his mouth clicked shut again. "What I didn't know, though, was that you're not just _my_ hero; you're _a_ hero. Everything you did… everything you do…." She blinked again. "Jounouchi Katsuya, I am so proud to be your sister. You… you…." She couldn't say more but instead threw her arms around his neck.

It took him a moment to react, and then he hesitantly put his arms around her. "I lost," he said into her hair, his voice thick. "I tried, Shizuka, I tried to make it right, but I _lost_. It was Yugi. It's always Yugi. Don't get me wrong, I'm proud to be his friend. But he's the hero, not me. I'm a loser."

She pulled back from him, shaking her head enough that strands of reddish-brown hair flew into her eyes. For a moment it distracted her—she could actually see the individual strands!—but then she focused on her brother. "No, you're wrong. It doesn't matter who beat Marik. It doesn't matter the final score. You never gave up. Not for a second. And not just for me or for Mai or for Yugi or any of your friends, but because that guy was bad news and he needed to be stopped. And you never gave up. You're not a loser, Big Brother. With your heart, bigger than I ever imagined, you're invincible."

A train whistled in the distance and the public address system announced it as hers. Before he could deny it again, she said quickly, "Here comes my train. You don't have to come with me, I know you have school in the morning."

"I'm not letting you ride back all alone."

"But—"

"But nothing. What kind of hero would I be, letting my baby sister ride a train in a strange town after dark?"

She cocked her head to the side and studied him as he gave her a crooked grin, but his eyes were wide and serious, touched by her words.

"Okay," she relented. "Maybe you can even stay a bit, talk to Mom—"

"I don't think so," he said quickly. "I'll take you to your hotel and then I have to be right back. I have something to do before school. There's one more duel left for me."

She frowned as the train pulled in, whipping up a wind that tugged at her hair. "More danger?"

"What? No," he said, then broke into a real grin. "No. Yugi and I… we promised we'd duel after Battle City. I have to earn back my Red-Eyes."

"And you have to do this before school?"

He nodded. "It's my real Battle City final. But anyway, here's the train."

She let him take her arm and lead her from the platform onto the train. As they took their seats, she impetuously leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"What's that for?" he blushed, and she smiled to see enough of the old Katsuya who was embarrassed by attention from his little sister.

"A hero always gets a kiss before he goes into battle. Okay, usually it's from a fair maiden and not his own sister, but since Mai isn't here—" she smirked when his blush deepened "—this will have to do." She sat back in her seat. "You're going to win, you know."

He snorted. "Yeah, right. You have seen Yugi play, right?"

"It doesn't matter," she said firmly. "You'll win. I can feel it."

He raised his eyes skyward. "From your lips…" Then he looked down at her again. "Thanks, Sis. You have no idea how much you…." He stopped and looked away, embarrassed once more, then mumbled at the window. "Because of you, I _am_ invincible."


	17. kHz

**Rating: **K

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**#17 kHz**

Jounouchi hated physics. If ever there was a class he felt would be completely useless to him beyond the four walls of Domino High School, it was physics. After all, ever since meeting Yugi he'd seen pretty much every law of physics known to man bent beyond all recognition every time he took out a deck of Duel Monster cards, so what was the point of learning this stuff anyway?

The school officials disagreed, however, so he was stuck taking physics. Right now they were studying wavelengths. "A wavelength is the distance between repeating units of a wave pattern," his teacher droned on while Jounouchi doodled Duel Monsters in his notebook. First he sketched a really awful Red-Eyes Black Dragon. Man he was happy to have that baby back in his deck. Then he moved on to other monsters—Flame Swordsman, Little Winguard, Rocket Warrior—and finally a few things he didn't have in his deck, like Yugi's Dark Magician. He doodled a Harpie Lady that looked even worse than the Red-Eyes and thought of Mai. If only he'd had the guts to tell her how much he liked her before she'd left. If only he'd had the guts to kiss her….

He shook his head, trying to shut down that train of thought. He was still a dumb high school kid and she was older and _so_ out of his league in every way possible. If he would've tried to kiss her she probably would've slapped him into next week. Besides, they hadn't heard from her at all in the last couple of months since Battle city, not so much as an e-mail, and there was no _way_ he was gonna e-mail or call her first. He was sure she would just laugh at him for being nothing more than a kid with a crush on someone he could never have. Best not to think about Mai.

He scribbled out the Harpie Lady with a little too much vehemence, then wrenched his eyes up from his notebook, trying to focus on the teacher once more. "Frequency is the number of wave peaks to pass a point in a given time. The hertz is the standard unit of measurement of frequency. One hertz is one cycle per second. Can anyone give an everyday example of frequency?"

Several hands shot up. Jounouchi noted with a roll of his eyes that Anzu's was one of them. _Nerd._ The teacher called on a different nerd, however, a girl named Nami.

"Radio and television stations are determined by frequency," Nami replied primly.

"Very good," the teacher replied. "FM radio and television both use Very High Frequencies, ranging from seventy to ninety megahertz for radio and even higher than that, into Ultra High Frequencies for television. AM radio, on the other hand, uses Medium Frequencies, from about 520 to 1620 kilohertz. Now the advantages of higher frequencies are that they produce a much better quality sound, but can't cover as much distance. Low frequencies, thirty to three hundred kilohertz, which are used for navigation and even very low frequencies in the three-to-thirty-kilohertz range for things like submarine communications, can be received from thousands of miles away."

_Very low frequency, _Jounouchi thought, his mind drifting again. That pretty much described his relationship with Shizuka ever since his parents' divorce—a videotape here, an audiotape there, and that was it, with no quality whatsoever. He hardly knew her, and she hardly knew him. It got the job done, though, covering the vast distance between them—not just in space but in the walls his mother put up between them—and kept them communicating. A thirty-kilohertz relationship was better than no relationship at all.

Ever since Shizuka's operation, however, things had been different. As he'd guessed, his mother felt she owed it to him to allow him regular contact with his sister since he had more or less been the one to finance her surgery. In the months between him sending the money and the actual operation, they'd gone from very low frequency to something more approaching medium frequency, like AM radio. Not the best quality in the world, but certainly good enough to enjoy some of the old standards.

Then came her surgery and they'd finally been actually together. And after that, during the whole Battle City fiasco, they'd spent a lot of time together. Of course, he would never allow that again. He loved helping Yugi and being at his side when the weirdness happened, but no _way_ he was gonna let his sister get involved again. He'd learned his lesson.

But still, they had grown close again during that tournament and in its aftermath their communication now was much more regular. They e-mailed. They talked on the phone at least once or twice a week. He'd even gotten his own calling card so that he could call her without it showing up on the regular phone bill so his dad wouldn't find out. He visited Shizuka in Tokyo a couple of times and Anzu even offered to let her stay at her place if she wanted to visit Domino. Now their relationship was like FM radio or television, Very High Frequency. She knew everything about his life now, and he knew everything about hers. High quality, shorter distance, metaphorically if not literally. A three-hundred-megahertz relationship.

He liked that. Maybe there was something to be said about physics after all.


	18. Say ahh

**Rating: **K

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**#18 "Say ahh…"**

"Say ahh…"

Shizuka rolled her eyes. You know, the thing her ophthalmologist was _supposed_ to be checking? Instead of her throat?

"Shizuka-chan," the doctor chided condescendingly, "the more difficulty you give me, the longer this will take."

Shizuka stuck out her tongue. "Air, ah eh-uh?"

He gave her a weary look. "Yes, that's better." He took out a tongue depressor and pushed down on her tongue, making her gag. "Yes, everything looks good back there," he muttered as he finally pulled out the tongue depressor.

"Almost as if it weren't my throat that was the problem," Shizuka said dryly.

"Shizuka!" her mother sighed, although it was a weak reprimand. She was used to Shizuka's snarky banter with Dr. Takahashi. They'd been seeing him since they moved to Tokyo over seven years ago, after all.

"You know as well as I do that there's no point in doing this if you've got a cold or an infection," the doctor said. "All right, onto the main event then. Let's have a look at those eyes."

"Still hazel," Shizuka said, trying to mask her nervousness. She leaned back in her seat and let him put the drops in that would dilate her eyes. She hated those drops; they always stung and it was nearly impossible to see afterwards. That part usually hadn't been a problem for her in the past since she couldn't see well to begin with. But now that everything was clear she wanted to keep it that way.

Dr. Takahashi shined a light in her eyes, looked at them with his machines, did all the usual tests that she knew by rote. Finally he was finished.

"Well?" her mother said, her voice sounding as nervous as Shizuka felt.

Dr. Takahashi smiled. "They look perfect. No unusual scaring, no post-op problems, nothing out of place."

Shizuka and her mother let out a unison sigh of relief, and then the doctor stuck his hand out at her. "Well, Shizuka, it's been nice knowing you."

She looked at him, squinting because of the dilation. "What?"

"This is your last post-op exam. You're done. Go enjoy life and don't darken my door again."

She blinked. "I'm… done?"

"You're done. The surgery was a complete success. Everything's fine. You're free to go."

"Oh, Shizuka!" her mother said, sweeping her into her arms and hugging her tightly, kissing her several times like she was a small child.

"Mom!" Shizuka cried, struggling away from her overexcited mother.

"Oh, Dr. Takahashi, thank you so much," her mother turned her exuberance on the poor doctor and Shizuka took the opportunity to make her escape from the examining room. She wound her way through the familiar halls to the waiting room, opening the door with a bang.

Startled, Katsuya jumped up from the seat where he'd been waiting. He'd come all the way from Domino just for this, but had balked at actually going into the examining room with them, preferring to wait out here instead. "I'll just play with the blocks," he'd said with a grin and then she'd remembered the doctor she used to go to in Domino and how she and her brother would play with the blocks in the waiting room and she was so happy to have him back in her life again.

But now he was alarmed by her sudden dramatic appearance. "Shizuka! What's wrong?" he cried.

She couldn't see him well because the dilation made everything blurry, but after fourteen years of deteriorating eyesight, she'd gotten good at interpreting blurs and she could tell he looked worried. "Why are you squinting like that?" he asked. "Did that quack mess something up? I swear—"

"Big Brother, stop, it's just the drops the doctor used to dilate my eyes so he could see inside. I'm fine."

"You're fine?" Katsuya asked, unconvinced.

She threw her arms around his neck. "Better than fine. I'm done!" she cried happily. "He said everything healed perfectly and I don't have to come back anymore!"

"You… he… you…" her brother stammered before finally choking out, "Really?"

"Really. And it's all because of you." She hugged him tighter until he had to pull back.

"Sis, I can't breathe!" he cried, then a wide, goofy grin spread across his face. In a sudden movement that caught her completely off guard, he grabbed her, hoisting her off the floor like a giant rag doll and spinning her around. "WooHOOO!"

"What on earth…?" she heard her mother say from the door into the waiting room and Shizuka thought her brother would stop stiffen like he usually did whenever their mother was around—when he wasn't avoiding her altogether, that is. But he didn't stop; he swung her around one more time for good measure before dropping her, slightly dizzy onto the floor. Her mother smiled. "I take it Shizuka told you the good news, Katsuya," she said cautiously.

"You better believe it!" he said, still with the broad goofy grin. "Okay, so what are we gonna do to celebrate?"

"Nothing 'til the eye drops wear off," Shizuka said. "Everything's too bright and blurry right now."

"And that's normal?"

"Yes, Big Brother," she sighed.

"Okay then. So after the drops wear off, what do we do to celebrate? I'm in Tokyo for three whole days and I've got five thousand yen burning a hole in my pocket that I've been saving from my paper route. What do you wanna do?"

"Ooh, let's go to Aoi-Marushin! I'm totally in the mood for tempura!"

"Aoi-Marushin it is then."

"And then a movie! The drops will have worn off by the time we're done eating."

"You got it, Sis."

"Katsuya, you don't have to spend your money," their mother said. "You…." She paused, and Shizuka could hear the catch in her voice. "You've already done so much."

He looked down, shrugging. "I just did what I had to, Ma. No big."

"You're wrong. It's very big. I… here Shizuka, I have money for you. You kids do whatever you like, on me."

"Ma…" Katsuya protested.

"No, Katsuya, please. Keep your money. You worked hard for it."

He looked up past Shizuka at their mother. "I… Ma… you wanna come with?"

Shizuka held her breath, waiting for a reply. "No," her mother said slowly, "I think it should just be you and Shizuka. You deserve this chance to celebrate together."

There was another pause and then he nodded. "Okay. Thanks, Ma."

"Thank _you_, Katsuya."

Shizuka let out her breath, not knowing if she was relieved or disappointed. She took the bills her mother had put down on one of the end tables and slipped them into her purse.

"Come on, Sis, you don't need to see well to eat. Let's blow this place and go get some tempura right now. I'm starved!"

Shizuka grinned. "Oh, there's a surprise."

"Hey, watch it!" he elbowed her playfully as he guided her out the door. As she crossed the threshold and the sun nearly blinded her like it always did when she left Dr. Takahashi's office, it sunk in. This was her _last time_. She would _never_ have to come back.

"You coming?" her brother asked, noting her hesitation.

"You bet," she smiled, threading her arm through her brother's and stepping out into the sunshine, leaving the shadowed doorway of the ophthalmologist office behind.


	19. Red

**Rating: **K+

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**#19 Red**

"Jounouchi Katsuya, so help me, if you do anything to get me fired…"

Anzu stood over their table, her hands on her hips, her eyes blazing as she glared down at the four of them. Jounouchi knew she hated when they came to Burger World while she was working, but they had the best burgers in town. Besides, he loved the way Yugi's eyes popped out of his head whenever he saw Anzu in her waitress uniform.

Jounouchi gave her his best innocent look. "Who, me?"

"Yes, you," she snapped. "And that goes for all of you," she added, although Jounouchi noticed her gaze really only took in Honda and Otogi, the latter of whom was visiting from America for the first part of his summer break, which started more than a month earlier than theirs in Japan. Yugi, naturally, was beyond reproach, and to prove it, he had his head bowed over the table, not meeting her gaze.

"Yes, ma'am," Otogi said in English, giving her a mock salute.

She gave him a hard look before schooling her features into a professional smile. "Now may I take your order?"

They all ordered burgers and fries and sodas, and Anzu started to walk away when she stopped and turned back. "Oh, Jounouchi, I almost forgot. It's all set for Shizuka to stay with me when she visits this weekend." And then she left.

Simultaneously, Honda's and Otogi's jaws dropped and in unison they said, "Shizuka's coming to visit?"

Jounouchi glowered at them, but before he could open his mouth, Honda turned on Otogi. "You stay away from her!"

"Why should I?" Otogi asked, shrugging. "_You_ stay away from her."

"_Both_ of you stay away from her," Jounouchi growled. "She ain't coming to visit either of you!"

"Sounds like she's coming to visit _Anzu_," Otogi said pointedly and Honda snickered. Yugi still had his head bowed, keeping well out of the fray.

"No, she's coming to visit _me_, you nimrods," Jounouchi grumbled. "She's just staying at Anzu's 'cause there's no way in hell she's staying at my dad's."

This seemed to sober them up and even Yugi looked up, giving him a small nod of support that he might've missed if he didn't know Yugi so well.

"What would she like to do while she's here?" Yugi asked. "We should take her somewhere really fun. You said she likes the beach, didn't you?"

"Oh yeah, let's go to the beach!" Hondo enthused.

"Totally," Otogi agreed.

"Bikinis," Honda raved.

"And wet t-shirts," Otogi added.

Jounouchi leaned over the table and clocked them both upside the head. "No beach! I'm not letting my kid sister anywhere near you two pervs, especially not in a bathing suit!"

"How about the museum, then? Girls like that cultural stuff," Otogi suggested.

Yugi looked down again and mumbled something that sounded like "Not ready yet."

Jounouchi put his hand on Yugi's shoulder. "No, not the museum."

"What Shizuka really needs is someone to show her a good time, take her out for a night on the town," Otogi said.

"And I'm just the man for the job," Hondo cut in.

"Yeah, right," Otogi scoffed, "your idea of a night on the town is Burger World and the arcade."

"Hey, I've got plenty of ideas for a good date. And I know Shizuka better than you do anyway," Honda retorted.

"Oh please, you met her like three days before me."

"Yeah, but it was three days at her bedside in the hospital."

"NEITHER OF YOU IS TAKING MY SISTER OUT ON A DATE SO JUST SHUT UP!" Jounouchi screeched, pounding his fists on the table, drawing the attention of everyone in the restaurant.

Anzu scurried over. "Jounouchi, I swear, I'll kill you," she warned through gritted teeth.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," he said, holding his hands up. "I'll be good, I promise."

"You'd better!"

"Our burgers ready yet?" Otogi asked. He only got a cold glare as response before she left again.

"Please don't get Anzu in trouble," Yugi whispered urgently when she was gone. "She needs this job to go study dancing in America." He looked at Jounouchi, his eyes pleading. "Remember what she did that one time when we first found out she was working here…."

"Don't tell me, tell them," Jounouchi cocked his thumb at Honda and Otogi.

"What? We're not doing anything," Otogi said innocently. "I don't see what the big deal is about going on one little date with your sister."

"Because I know what you're both thinking, that's why," Jounouchi warned.

"Oh come on, I'm not thinking anything," Honda protested. "Just that I'd like to get to know her. I mean, she's your sister! I wouldn't try anything!"

"Me either," Otogi added as Anzu returned with their food, "even if she is cute."

"Oh yeah, definitely cute," Honda agreed, leaning back in his seat so Anzu could reach across him to hand Otogi his plate.

"With those big hazel eyes…" Otogi said dreamily.

"And that long, red hair…"

"Oh yeah, gotta love the red hair. But still, I wouldn't try anything. Well, a good-night kiss maybe."

"No harm in a little good-night kiss," Honda nodded, closing his eyes with a sigh.

"All right, that's it," Jounouchi seethed. "You two wanna see something red, how 'bout your own blood!"

He lunged across the table at them, knocking aside the burger Anzu had just set in front of him. Anzu was quicker, however. Before he could reach them she grabbed him by the back of the shirt and hauled him back to his seat. With her other hand, she took a bottle of ketchup and squeezed it, spraying its contents down the front of his shirt.

"What did I say?" she hissed, then slammed the ketchup bottle down on the table in front of him. Abruptly her demeanor went back to cool and professional. "Would you care for some mustard, too?"


	20. The road home

**Rating: **K+

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**#20 The road home**

"What the… what is _that_?"

Shizuka stopped short and looked where her friend, Mariko, was pointing, but before she could see anything, her other friend, Fujita, ran into her, almost knocking her over. Mariko and Fujita were two of the first friends she'd made when she'd transferred out of the school for the blind to the regular public high school, and the three of them would regularly walk home from school together.

"Would you watch where you're going?" Shizuka snapped at Fujita.

"You're the one who stopped right in front of me," her friend shot back, brushing off her blue sailor uniform.

"Would you two stop and look," Mariko said urgently.

Shizuka and Fujita looked where Mariko was pointing and gasped. "That looks like a Duel Monster!" Fujita said as they took in the giant alligator hovering over the rooftops of the buildings around them.

"Alligator Sword," Shizuka said immediately.

Mariko and Fujita both looked at her. "How do you know?" Mariko asked.

"My brother has that card in his deck," she said, unable to take her eyes off the huge monster.

"A giant reptile attacking Tokyo. We're living a cliché," Mariko said.

"It's not _attacking_, Mariko, it's just sitting there. It must be one of those duel disk holograms," Fujita said, "but I had no idea they could be so big."

Without even realizing she was doing it, Shizuka started shaking her head slowly. "No," she said, more to herself than to her friends, "that doesn't look like a hologram. It doesn't _feel_ like a hologram."

Mariko and Fujita looked at each other and then at Shizuka. "What do you mean, it doesn't 'feel' like a hologram? What else could it be?"

Shizuka bit her lip, and shrugged. "I don't know." Then she looked up at her friends and screwed on a smile. "I'm just messing with you. Come on, let's go to my house. With a giant alligator floating over Tokyo, you know this is going to be on the news."

* * *

As it turns out, an alligator over Tokyo wasn't even close to the biggest news. Apparently there had been similar sightings all over the world, all of them giant Duel Monsters. Shizuka didn't recognize most of them; she really only knew her brother's favorite cards and a few from Yugi's and Mai's decks. Fujita played occasionally, so she could name more of them. No one could explain the sudden odd appearances of giant holographic (they assumed) Duel Monsters all over the world, but there was a lot of speculation about a system-wide malfunction in Kaiba Corp's duel disk satellite network despite the fact that Kaiba Seto himself gave a press conference to say that he had shut down the entire system and still the monsters kept appearing. Mariko and Fujita both rolled their eyes and made cracks about lying corporate executives, but Shizuka couldn't help but hug herself and shudder. Something was very wrong, she could just tell. And when something weird was going on that involved Duel Monsters, she knew her brother would be right in the middle of it.

She ached to call him, but she didn't dare. She never called his apartment for fear their father would answer. Sometimes she would leave a message at Anzu's or Yugi's, but she had a feeling they would be in the thick of whatever was going on and she wouldn't have any luck getting a hold of them, either. Nevertheless, as soon as her friends left, she would call them both and leave messages.

After a couple of hours of watching the news, Mariko and Fujita got bored with it and decided they wanted to go to the mall. Shizuka declined to join them and said good-bye to them on her doorstep.

"Don't look so worried, Shizuka. I'm sure it's just some sort of Kaiba Corp publicity stunt," Fujita said, giving her an air kiss as she and Mariko left.

* * *

It was two days later when her brother finally called her back.

"Hey, Shizuka, got your messages," he said breezily and Shizuka knew right away something big was going on. She could tell from his voice that he was trying too hard to be cheerful.

"What's going on with all the monsters everywhere?" she asked.

"Oh, that," her brother laughed. "Who knows? Something funky with Kaiba Corp, I'm sure."

"Don't you lie to me, Jounouchi Katsuya," Shizuka snapped. "What about those weird lights in the sky all over the world last night? Was that Kaiba Corp, too? I don't remember duel disks doing anything like that. And I read in this morning's paper all about what happened in Domino. A giant eye in the sky? And a _tornado_? Don't think for a second I don't know that if all this is going on in Domino, you and Yugi are right in the middle of it!"

"Shizuka—"

"Katsuya—"

On the other end of the line, he sighed. "We don't know what the deal is, okay? All we know is some loser motorcycle gang stole the Egyptian god cards—"

"Someone stole the god cards? The ones Yugi won in Battle City?" Shizuka gasped.

"Yeah, and that's about when all the monsters started appearing. Yugi dueled one of the guys and he played some freaky card none of us had ever heard of before, the Seal of something or other, and even though Yugi beat him, he wouldn't give Yugi the god cards back.

"Then last night Yugi had some weird dream like something out of the Legend of Arthur where he pulls a sword out of a stone, only it's a giant ice dragon instead. And when he wakes up, he has a new card with a dragon called Timeaus on it. And somehow the card stopped the eye thingy."

After everything she'd seen in Battle City, she didn't even bat an eyelash at the concept of a card stopping a giant eye in the sky. "And?" she asked.

"That's it, that's all we know."

"Okay, but there's still something else, Big Brother. I can hear it in your voice."

"It's no big deal, okay?" he said, going for that light tone again. "It's actually pretty cool. I'll be leaving Japan for a while. Don't catch cold."

"Don't you hang up on me, Jounouchi Katsuya, we're not done yet!" _Don't catch cold_ was sort of a sign-off he'd adopted over the last few months. He would tell her that when it was time to say good-bye and there was still more left to say, like how much he missed her, how much he wanted her to be safe and well. It was too much to say, so he'd say _don't catch cold_ instead, and she would say _I won't, you either_ and they'd hang up. But no _way_ he was hanging up on her today. "What do you mean, leaving Japan? Where are you going?"

"To America. California."

"_America_? And that's no big deal?" she cried. "Katsuya, why are you going to America all of a sudden?"

"I'm telling you, Sis, I don't know, okay? Pegasus wants Yugi in America and it has something to do with all the weird stuff going on, but that's all we know. I swear."

"Isn't Pegasus the same guy you said cheated Yugi in Duelist Kingdom?"

"Yeah. He's the one who created Duel Monsters."

"And now you're going out to _America_ just because he said so?"

He sighed again. "Yeah, we think he's reformed now. And you know Yugi. Pegasus thinks Yugi can help, and he's got that weird dragon card thingy and everything.

She chewed on her lip. "When do you leave?"

"Tomorrow. Pegasus is flying us out in one of those fancy private jets."

She wanted to be excited for him, flying to America on a rich man's private jet. She wanted to be proud of him for playing the hero again. But she was afraid. There still was something he wasn't telling her, and nothing she said could get it out of him. All she could see in her mind's eye was the very end of his duel against Marik as he fell to his knees, the shadows swirling around him.

"Big Brother, please be careful. Please don't let anything bad happen to you in America."

"I won't, Sis. Pinky swear."

She smiled despite herself, but when she hung up the phone, her smile faded. "Stay safe, Big Brother," she whispered at the disconnected phone. "And come home."


	21. Violence pillage plunder

**Rating: **K+

**

* * *

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**#21 Violence; pillage/plunder**

Mariko thought the green shooting stars were pretty, but Shizuka knew instinctively they were more bad news. Shooting stars in the middle of the afternoon?

"Look, I think one fell over there, let's go look!" Mariko cried, pointing down the street to where a couple was locked in a passionate kiss. She then took off before Shizuka could stop her.

"Mariko, wait!" she shouted, running after her friend.

They skidded to a stop when a glowing green circle appeared out of nowhere in the street about a yard away from the oblivious couple. The circle expanded and began glowing brightly enough that even the lovers noticed and broke off their embrace, startled.

That was when the monster crawled out of the pavement in the middle of the circle.

The girl screamed and her boyfriend pushed her away, turning to fight. Mariko screamed as well when the monster—something in scaly gray armor and a horned hat that made Shizuka think of Vikings—grabbed the young man who struggled in vain and then went limp. Shizuka swallowed her own scream, grabbed Mariko's arm and started running.

* * *

Like the giant Duel Monsters before them, the strange armored things in Viking hats crawling out of glowing green circles appeared all over the world while people collapsed around them. There were wild rumors about alien invaders, terrorist plots, and the usual assortment of religious doomsayers predicting the apocalypse. There was rioting and looting in many places, which sort of completed the Viking imagery. The worst of it seemed to be in San Francisco.

"Mom, is San Francisco in California?" Shizuka asked as she sat gripping her knees in front of the television.

"Yes, it is. Why?"

Shizuka couldn't answer. Her mother didn't know Katsuya was in California. San Francisco, if Shizuka had to guess.

"Shizuka, turn off the television. I think you're letting this upset you too much. I'm sure everything will be fine."

* * *

By the time her mother started preparing dinner, Shizuka was too sick to eat. _What time is it in San Francisco? The middle of the night? _

Her mother assumed it was a stomach bug of some kind and sent her to bed and although she wanted to check the news online as soon as her mother left the room, she felt too sick. She drifted into an uneasy sleep, plagued by dreams of her brother dueling those Viking-hat things. Over and over he dueled and lost, collapsing senseless in the middle of the green glowing circle like that guy who'd pushed his girlfriend out of the way in the street.

Just before dawn, the dreams abruptly stopped and she woke up. She still felt exhausted, but no longer felt nauseous, so she got out of bed and went online to find natural disasters were now the big news. A hurricane had sprung up out of nowhere off the American east coast, while another massive storm raged in the Pacific off the coast of Northern California. There had also been an earthquake in San Francisco about eleven o'clock last night Tokyo time; small by California standards at only 5.9 on the Richter scale and there were no casualties reported. Meanwhile, the Viking-hat things seem to have disappeared and were now being chalked up to some sort of world-wide hoax, although none of the people who had mysteriously collapsed had regained consciousness.

"Shizuka, what are you doing up?" her mother asked, poking her head into Shizuka's room. "Are you feeling better?"

"A little," Shizuka nodded. "I'm actually feeling sorta hungry."

"Okay, I'll go make you some breakfast. Do you need me to stay home from work?"

"No, I'll be okay." _Just call me, Big Brother. Call and tell me everything's fine._

* * *

By lunchtime it was all over. The storms in both the Atlantic and Pacific had abruptly ceased. Order had been restored in the cities where there had been rioting. Everyone who had been left unconscious by the Viking-hat things were all awake and doing well.

But still, no word from her brother.

* * *

"Shizuka, wake up, your brother's on the phone."

Shizuka bolted upright, wide awake. "What? Is he okay? What time is it?"

"It's five in the morning. He wouldn't tell me why he was calling so early, just that he needed to talk to you."

She practically flew to the phone, shooing her mother from the room before picking it up. "Big Brother, is that really you? Are you okay?"

"Hey Sis, it's really me. I'm good, we're all good. I'm sorry to call so early. I got the times mixed up, but I wanted to tell you to look for me on TV. I'm gonna be in a big tournament here in America that Kaiba's hosting, the Kaiba Corp Grand Prix—"

"Tournament?" she said, her jaw dropping. "_Tournament_? Are you _kidding_ me? I have been worried sick ever since you left for America, especially the last few days with all the weird stuff going on with those creepy monsters and people collapsing and the storms and the earthquake, and even when it's all over I don't hear from you for like a whole day and all you have to say is you're going to be in a _tournament? _Have you completely lost your _mind_?"

"I, uh… you knew about all that?"

"What, I live in a freaking cave? It's all over the news, and I know it all had something to do with those Duel Monsters appearing all over and the reason you went to America. What the hell happened?"

There was a long pause. "It's no big deal, Shizuka. Same old thing, you know? Freaky guy with a take-over-the-world complex and we kicked his butt. I even got one of those pull-the-sword-out-of-the-ice-dragon card thingies. The Claw of Hermos. Although I didn't get to keep it, but still, it was pretty cool. And now it's all over. End of story."

"End of story? I don't think so! What happened? Are you okay? Are your friends all okay?"

"We're good, Sis, we're… we're all good, okay?" he said, and the sudden weariness in his voice drained away some of her anger.

"I was so worried, Katsuya, you have no idea. I thought something terrible had happened to you or to your friends."

There was another long pause. "No, all my friends… we're all fine now, okay? Listen, I can't talk real long. I'm calling on the professor's phone and we're getting ready to go back to the city for the tournament—"

"So it isn't over? Is that why you're doing a tournament?"

"What? Wait, no. This isn't like Duelist Kingdom or Battle City, okay? This time it's just a tournament. For fun. And 'cause we need a ride back to Japan and Kaiba will fly us back if we do it, so we kinda have to. But it's just for fun, I swear."

"Oh come on, when is it ever just for fun with you and Yugi?"

He sighed. "I know. But the bad stuff is all over, okay? We're gonna do this tournament and then we'll be back in Japan before summer break is over. I'll come visit you in Tokyo when I get back, okay? Now I've gotta go."

"No, Katsuya, wait, I… are you really okay? Everything's fine?"

"I'm really okay," he said. "Look for me on TV, okay? I love you and I'll see you soon." And before she could say another word, he was gone.

She put the phone back in its cradle, and then everything spilled out, all the fear and anxiety she'd been feeling the last few days just broke through and she started sobbing. She still had no idea what had happened to him or to his friends over the last few days, but she'd heard his voice. He was fine.

And yet… no matter what he said, she knew she had somehow just barely missed losing him forever. Again.


	22. Cradle

**Author's note: **spoilery for the end of the series.

**Rating: **T (for language, though there isn't really that much of it)

* * *

**#22 Cradle**

Jounouchi pulled the zipper closed on his battered red suitcase and pulled it over into the corner of his room where his carry-on duffel was already packed and waiting. He would leave early in the morning while his father was sleeping off his usual hangover and walk over to Anzu's with Honda. From there, Anzu's mother, who thought the trip was school-related, would take them to the airport where they would catch Yugi before he got on the plane. Yugi, of course, didn't know they were coming. He thought this was something he should do alone, but they knew he wouldn't say no if they were already at the airport, tickets in hand, so the three of them had planned their trip in secret. There was just no way they were going to let him go alone.

There was just no way they were going to miss their chance to say good-bye.

Jounouchi sat on his bed, trying not to think about it, but with the packing done and nothing left to do, it was impossible _not_ to think about it. They'd been granted a reprieve, he knew, because of the trip to California. He didn't really want to think about that trip, either, especially not about Mai and the fact that the only contact he'd had with her since their duel was a letter she'd sent him shortly after his return to Japan; an apology for what she had done and a promise to apologize in person after she'd taken some time to own up to everything she'd done. It figured; now that he finally wasn't afraid to contact her or to admit how he felt about her, he had no idea where she was.

But even with all that, California had been a reprieve and he was grateful for it; by the time they'd returned to Japan after the Kaiba Corp Grand Prix, the Memory Stone had been removed from the museum in Domino and returned to Egypt. With school starting again after summer break, Yugi's grandfather had told him he would have to wait until winter break to go to Egypt, so while they'd all pretended to be disappointed on the other Yugi's behalf, they were secretly relieved to gain another few months.

And now, those months were over. Tomorrow, they would fly to Cairo. Tomorrow would be the beginning of the end.

Balling his hands into fists, he cast his eyes around his room, trying to think of something else he had left to do, anything that would take his mind off of tomorrow, but there was nothing. His bags were packed, Anzu had printed off all their e-tickets, and he'd even laid out his clothes for tomorrow. There was nothing left to do except the one thing he wasn't looking forward to doing: calling Shizuka.

It wasn't that he didn't want to talk to her. It was just that he couldn't help but remember what a disaster it had been telling her he was going to America. When everything had started going to hell and it was all on the news, she'd worried herself sick—literally, he found out later—and he didn't relish the thought of giving her another reason to worry. Not that he expected a lot of danger on this trip, but still, danger tended to follow them when they weren't expecting it and he had no doubt Shizuka would be anxious. But it couldn't be helped. She would be expecting to see him over winter break unless she knew he was out of the country, and an unexplained disappearance would worry her more than an explained one, so he didn't really have much of a choice. All he had to do was figure out how to keep everything light and fun-sounding.

"Well, Sis," he said breezily when he had her on the line, "you're never gonna believe this, but tomorrow I'm off to Egypt with Yugi, Honda, and Anzu. The cradle of civilization, baby! How cool is that?"

"Egypt?" she asked, her voice instantly wary. "Why are you going to Egypt?"

"For moral support for Yugi. He…" Jounouchi felt his throat tighten. "He's going to find the other Yugi's memories."

"And exactly how dangerous is this going to be?"

Jounouchi sighed. "Hopefully not at all. He's just gotta wave the god cards in front of this stone tablet thingy and then, I dunno, I guess he gets his memories back." Never mind that the last time he'd tried it, living Duel Monsters had appeared all over the world, a giant eye in the sky almost ate them for lunch, Mai went evil, and he temporarily lost his soul._ But other than that, should be perfectly safe._

"If that's all there is to it, why do you have that tone?" she demanded.

"What tone?" he sniffed. "I don't have a tone."

"Yes you do. You sound like you're going to be spending the night in a graveyard."

"Well, it is Egypt we're talking about. Ever stop to think about all the _mummies_?" He shuddered.

"Don't give me that crap, Katsuya," she said in a tone that sounded alarmingly like their mother's. "What are you dreading?"

"Nothing," he insisted, but when she wouldn't relent, he sighed, "Okay, nothing dangerous. It's just…" He closed his eyes, feeling his throat tighten again. "It's nothing."

"It doesn't sound like nothing," she said, and he realized he was going in the total wrong direction, alarming her more with everything he didn't say.

He swallowed. "It's just… dammit," he swore softly. "It's the end, Shizuka. When the other Yugi gets his memories back, it's over. He goes back to wherever he came from, wherever he belongs and it's over. No more magic. No more monsters. No more saving the world. No more other Yugi."

Shizuka was silent for a moment, then softly she said, "Big Brother, don't you think that's a _good_ thing?"

"He's our _friend_!" Jounouchi shouted, surprising himself with his own vehemence. "He's our friend and we're gonna have to leave him behind!"

"I know," she placated, her voice soft and soothing. "But it had to happen eventually, right? I mean, Yugi can't spend the rest of his life with a spirit living in his head."

"I know," Jounouchi bit out. "I know. We're going, aren't we?" He balled his fist up again, his knuckles turning white. "I… shit. I can't do this. I gotta keep it together. Yugi and Anzu, they're both gonna be wrecks before it's all over, so Honda and me, we gotta keep it together. That's our job here. But… dammit, Shizuka, it's hard, you know? You don't know… you don't know much everything changed because of him. Well, I mean, it wasn't really him, it was the regular Yugi who made the difference. He's the one that changed everything. But still, who knows what would've happened after if the other Yugi hadn't been around? Who knows if I woulda slipped back into all the old ways if all the weird stuff hadn't started happening? I mean, I got to help save the _world_.

"But what happens when it's over? Yugi… he'll always be Yugi. He'll always be a hero because he always _was_ a hero, long before the Pharaoh ever showed up, so he'll still be a hero when he's gone. But me? What will I be when it's all said and done? What if without all this stuff, the duels and the monsters and the magic and everything, what if without it all I am is who I was before?"

"I don't understand, Big Brother. What's wrong with who you were before?"

He laughed, a brittle mirthless sound. "You have no idea, Shizuka, no idea." And then it all came spilling out. He told her everything about those six years between her moving away and the day everything changed when he dove into a canal behind the school. He told her about his old friend Hirutani, and about the gang and the stealing and the violence. He told her why he'd been too ashamed to contact her for two years, and about getting drunk and how much he'd liked it and how much it had scared him. He told her about the Puzzle and its riddle—something seen but not seen—and how he and Honda had taunted Yugi, taking it from him and tossing a piece of it away, and about how Yugi had defended them to an even worse bully, calling them his _friends_ when they didn't deserve it.

"That's who I was, Shizuka. That's who I _am_. But then all this other stuff happened; Duelist Kingdom and Battle City and California and I got to be something different. But tomorrow, that's over, do you understand? Tomorrow we get on a plane and we go to Egypt. His birthplace. The birthplace for _all_ of it. And we kiss it all good-bye forever. We say good-bye to _him_ forever. And Yugi's gonna lose it, but in the end he'll be okay because he always was to begin with. And Anzu's gonna lose it, but she'll be okay, too, because she's eventually gonna figure out that what she really wants has been right in front of her the whole time. And Honda, well, Honda was always a good guy. He'll be the same as he always was. But me, Shizuka? I'm nothing. I've always been nothing, but for a while, with all this stuff, I got to be _something_. And I don't wanna be nothing again."

There was a long silence and he almost thought maybe she'd hung up on him in disgust when she finally spoke. "Big Brother, do you understand the riddle from the Puzzle?"

"Say what?"

"The riddle. 'Something seen but not seen.' You told me that riddle once before, remember? You said it was like us, that no matter how long we went without seeing each other, we would always see each other."

"I remember."

"But that's not all it means, you know."

"I know that!" he said irritably. "It's mine and Yugi's friendship. You can see us, me and Yuge, but you can't see our friendship."

"Yes, but it's so much more than even that," she said, her voice thick with emotion. "It's each of you. The other Yugi, he's something seen but not seen, right? You can't really see him, you just see Yugi? But you know he's there.

"And Yugi, the regular Yugi, from what I've been hearing from you and Honda and Anzu, no one ever saw him until the other Yugi came, right? You said he was always a hero, but I'll bet you never saw it until all of this… stuff happened. And I'll bet he still doesn't see it at all."

"Yeah, I guess," he said, not sure where she was going with this.

"And Anzu, you said she'll eventually figure out what she wants is what's always been in front of her the whole time, so she's seeing and not seeing, too. And Honda, no one ever sees Honda because he doesn't duel like you and Yugi and he doesn't look cute in a mini-skirt like Anzu." Jounouchi snorted at that. "But he's always there when you need him, isn't he? So all of your friends, they're all seen and not seen, right? The question is, what does that mean for _you_?"

"I…" he started, then stopped. "I don't know what you're getting at."

"You don't see yourself, Big Brother," she said with an intensity that surprised him. "You see all this stuff, all these stupid choices you made a long time ago, and you think that's who you were and who you are because you don't _see_. You compare yourself to Yugi over and over again and you think you come up short because he wins the duels and everyone knows he's the King of Games and you think that means something because you don't _see_. You don't see the way _I_ see. You don't see the boy who's going all the way to Egypt just to say good-bye to a friend, or who went all the way to America to fight something so big and so scary I still have nightmares about it and I wasn't even _there_ and I _still_ don't know what really happened. You don't see the boy who won back his Red-Eyes from the best duelist in the _world_ and who dueled Kaiba for third place just to remind him it was supposed to be a game. Or who… who withstood an attack from an Egyptian god and woke up by sheer force of will just to be there for his friend. Or who kept fighting to save a girl in a coma, or who let an anchor drag him into the ocean because he wouldn't let his friend drown, or who sat by my bedside when I was too afraid to give up the little niche I'd made for myself as the poor little blind girl. You don't see the boy who didn't care if he won or lost so long as I got my operation or the boy who jumped into a pool just to fish out a puzzle piece when he could've walked away instead.

"And that's just all the things you've done since meeting Yugi. What you really don't see, what you've never seen, Jounouchi Katsuya, is they boy who saved his sister over and over and over again before he'd ever even heard of such a thing as a Millennium Puzzle or Egyptian god cards or even Duel Monsters. You don't see…" she stopped, and he could tell she was crying. "You don't see the boy who was the one thing that stood between a mean drunk and a little girl who would've thought it really was all her fault… except for _you_."

He closed his eyes, gripping the phone. "Shizuka…"

"_You_, Katsuya, you're seen but not seen. And… when it's all over, when there's no more magic and monsters and saving the world, _that's_ what you'll be. What you've always been. Nothing you just told me, none of those things you've done can change who you _are_."

"You don't get it, Shizuka. You make it all sound bigger than it was. I just… I did what I had to do."

"What do you think it means to be a hero? You do what you have to do, no matter what. You always do what you have to do. It's why you're going to Egypt with Yugi tomorrow, too. No matter how hard it'll be."

"Yeah. Yeah," he nodded. "It's what I have to do."

"I know. Tell him… say good-bye for me, too." She paused again. "Will you be home for New Year's?"

He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand and took a steadying breath. "Should be, yeah. I'm still planning on coming to Tokyo. We'll see the sunrise and visit the shrines together, okay?"

"Yeah, that sounds good. Stay safe, Big Brother, okay? I know you don't think it will be dangerous, but…"

"I know," he said. "And you, don't catch cold."

She snorted. "You're such an idiot."

"Yeah, but it's why you love me," he couldn't help but grin.

"Yeah," she agreed, "it pretty much is."

"Okay then. I should get to bed. We're leaving pretty early tomorrow. Thanks, though. For everything. You're the best, you know that?"

"No, I'm not," she replied. "It's just what I have to do, too."


	23. Candy

**SPOILER ALERT: **This chapter contains spoilers for the end of the series. Read at your own risk.

**Rating: **K+

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* * *

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**#23 Candy**

She first saw the little blond American girl in the gift shop buying some candy. The girl looked like she was ten or so and was chatting animatedly in English with an older American gentleman—her grandfather, Shizuka presumed—and Shizuka really only noticed her because she was so loud and her manner so informal and even cheeky with her elder. She also was wearing what looked like a Japanese school uniform, which Shizuka thought was odd on an American.

She saw her again when she was waiting in the place where passengers from international flights came through after customs. She was checking the flight schedule for the fourteen thousandth time and hoping Otogi had given her the right flight information when she heard the girl's loud chattering. It was then that she started thinking that the girl looked kind of familiar, like she'd seen her somewhere before. On TV maybe? She could be some child actress on one of those American TV shows. Shizuka probably could've figured it out if she'd listen to them talking; she understood English, but only if she was paying careful attention. Right now she was too anxious to see her brother and everyone to drum up enough interest and the girl's prattle was grating on her nerves anyway, so she let the foreign language wash over, not paying any attention until she heard the girl say what sounded an awful lot like "Otogi."

Her curiosity piqued, Shizuka started listening to the young American. It couldn't really be considered eavesdropping, she reasoned, since the girl was speaking loudly enough for the pilots on the incoming planes to hear.

"Yes, Rebecca," the grandfather was saying in a weary voice, "I'm quite sure Otogi gave us the right flight information. The flight arrived from Cairo some time ago. It just takes a while to get through customs. You have to be patient."

"I'm sorry, I just can't wait," she replied, a bundle of energy. "I'm just so anxious to see my darling, to make sure he's okay with everything that happened."

Shizuka moved closer to the pair. "Excuse me," she said in English, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I couldn't help but overhear you mention the name Otogi. Do you mean Otogi… I mean Ryuuji Otogi, coming in on the flight from Cairo?" she asked, switching the name to the English order with the surname last.

"Oh! You know Otogi?" the girl asked in flawless—if a bit impolite—Japanese and Shizuka found herself surprised. "Are you like his girlfriend or something?"

Shizuka blushed. "Oh no, no, he's… he's a friend of my brother's. They're returning from Cairo together with a bunch of their friends."

The blond girl narrowed her eyes. "Who's your brother?"

"Jounouchi Katsuya," Shizuka replied and then took a step back in surprise when the girl shrieked.

"You're _Jounouchi's_ sister? No _way_! I know Jounouchi! He's my darling's best friend!" she cried, delighted. "My name's Rebecca, by the way, and this is my grandfather."

"Professor Arthur Hopkins," the gentleman said with a smile and a polite bow of his head.

Shizuka bowed back. "Pleased to meet you," she said with an awkward grin, curious about who exactly this kid thought was her "darling." "My name is Shizuka. So how do you know my brother and his friends?"

"My boyfriend is his best friend. Mutou Yugi," she said with a wide smile and Shizuka almost choked. _I wonder what Anzu has to say about that._ The girl couldn't be more than ten, eleven tops, although her half-moon glasses made her look a little older. Then again, Yugi didn't exactly look his age, either. "I met them all a couple years ago when I thought his grandpa stole a rare card from my grandpa, but that turned out to be a big misunderstanding. And then, of course, they all stayed with us when they were in California for that whole Orichalcos nightmare, and then Yugi and Jounouchi and I all competed in the KC Grand Prix together—"

"Wait, what did you say?" Shizuka interrupted. "Did you say they stayed with you when they were in California this past summer?" When her brother had called, hadn't he mentioned something about a professor?

"That's right," Rebecca chirped. "They came to see Gramps to see what he knew about those weird Orichalcos stones, but of course that's right when those Doma creeps set our house on fire, so we all ended up crammed together in the RV. That was just before the other Yugi lost my darling's—"

"Rebecca!" the professor called out kindly but firmly. "I'm sure this young lady does not want to hear all about our exploits in California, and Yugi and the others should be through customs any time now."

"No, it's fine," Shizuka smiled politely, trying to hide her disappointment. Here was someone who had actually been in California with her brother when all that weird stuff was going on and had been about to tell her some of what really went on! If only her grandfather hadn't cut her off. But she suspected the grandfather had guessed she didn't know much about that trip by design. Still, this girl had come all the way from America just to greet them when they got off the plane, so she would probably be staying a while. Maybe Shizuka could find a way to get her alone at some point and _finally_ get the real story.

The professor made small talk with them, explaining how he was an old friend of Yugi's grandfather, then Rebecca jumped in again. "We knew they were going to Egypt, of course, even before Otogi called. And then when all the storms started everywhere, well we just knew it was related, you know?"

Shizuka nodded, trying not to shudder. She too had figured the weird storms that had sprung up all over the world were somehow related to whatever was going on in Egypt. That was when Otogi had called her to ask if she'd heard from any of them, and when she hadn't, he'd told her he was going to fly out to Egypt to check on them. She didn't hear anything from any of them until two days after the storms had stopped when Otogi called to tell her they were coming home and gave her the flight information so she could meet them at the airport. It had taken quite a bit of maneuvering for her to get her mother to let her come to Domino so she could be here when they arrived, but she did it and here she was, waiting to see them. Waiting for confirmation that it was truly _over_.

Apparently Rebecca and her grandfather had felt the same way. "As soon as the storms stopped we got on a plane for Japan because I just had to be here when they got back," Rebecca said, offering Shizuka some of the grape Hi-Chews candy she'd bought in the gift shop. "It must've been hard for darling to say goodbye to his other self, even after everything that happened last summer." She sighed dramatically. "I just had to be here for him."

Again Shizuka had to battle down her need to know what exactly had gone on in California last summer; with Rebecca's grandfather there, she doubted she'd get the full story right now anyway.

"So how about you, do you know Yugi and the others pretty well, or are you just here to see your brother?" Rebecca asked her.

"No, they're all my friends," she replied, declining the candy. "I first met Yugi and the others when they were in a tournament here in Domino called Battle City."

"Oh man, Battle City! I _so_ should've been in that tournament, but Gramps wouldn't let me take a break from school to come back to Japan," Rebecca pouted, glowering at her grandfather. He pretended not to notice. "I was just starting my last semester of high school and he didn't think—"

"_High school?"_ Shizuka cried, interrupting her. "How old are you?"

Rebecca gave her a haughty smirk. "I just turned eleven."

"_Eleven_? And you're in high school?"

"No, I _was_ in high school during Battle City. I just finished my second semester of college."

Shizuka gaped at her. "College? And you're _eleven_?"

"I'm a prodigy," she said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "And also the American National Duel Monsters Champion," she bragged.

That was when Shizuka realized where she'd seen Rebecca before. "I remember you now! You were in that tournament in California. I saw you on television!"

"That's right," she smiled proudly.

"You did quite well, didn't you?"

"I made it to the semi-finals," said, then her smile faded to a scowl. "I wanted to win so I could duel against my darling, but that Leon was just too good. But at least I got to go to that one," she said with another angry glare at her grandfather.

"Oh, be glad you missed Battle City," Shizuka placated her. "It really wasn't all that great. I mean, other than getting to meet Yugi and Honda and Anzu and Mai and everyone."

Rebecca's eyes narrowed. "Mai? The tall blonde with the attitude? What _is_ her deal anyway?"

Shizuka frowned. Rebecca knew Mai, too? She and her brother hadn't heard anything from Mai since the end of Battle City and he patently refused to talk about her, and Shizuka was suddenly very curious again. What did this girl know about Mai and why was she reacting so negatively? Mai hadn't been in that tournament with them, so she couldn't know her from that. Shizuka started to ask her how she knew Mai when her grandfather interrupted.

"Rebecca, look, they're here."

Rebecca and Shizuka both looked down the long airport passageway toward the exit from customs. Seven familiar figures walked wearily among the crowd toward them dragging their suitcases.

"YUGI!" Rebecca shrieked suddenly, darting past her grandfather and racing down the concourse, dropping her package of Hi-Chews and sending grape candies flying everywhere. She threw herself at the diminutive teen, wrapping her arms around his neck and peppering his cheek with kisses. Even from this distance, Shizuka could see Anzu behind them, seething. Yugi, for his part, looked mortified.

At that moment, her brother caught sight of her, his eyes widening in surprise. "Shizuka!" he called, and she started running down the concourse, too. As soon as he'd said her name, however, he'd attracted the attention of both Honda and Otogi who simultaneously moved as if to run to meet her. Katsuya was quicker, however, grabbing them both by the backs of their jackets and muttering something that she was fairly certain was a threat. She couldn't help but laugh as she reached them, stopping short in front of where Rebecca had finally let go of poor Yugi. She wanted to throw her arms around her brother she was so relieved that once again he was safe and everything was all right, but he was surrounded by his friends and she couldn't really get close to him. He looked good, though, and happy. They all did, come to think of it, even Yugi. The only difference she could see in him was that he was no longer wearing the big golden inverted pyramid around his neck like he always did.

* * *

It was later, back at the impromptu gathering they'd had at Yugi's house that Shizuka got a sense on how big a toll this trip had taken on them all. Yugi, never a big talker to begin with, seemed to get quieter and more withdrawn as the evening went on. Anzu disappeared early on and Shizuka found her a little later downstairs in the game shop, sitting behind one of the counters, crying. She tried to talk to her, but Anzu just shook her head and left, asking Shizuka to make her apologies to Yugi and his grandfather for her. Bakura, whom Shizuka knew least of all of them, seemed to hover in the corners and had to be consistently drawn back into the group by one of them. Otogi and Honda seemed the same as always, fighting over her as usual while Katsuya threatened them, but every now and then she'd catch Honda looking wistfully at Yugi's duel disk propped in the corner or Otogi fiddling with a handful of dice the way he did when he was preoccupied. The whole evening had an almost wake-like feel to it, only no one was really talking about the person who was gone. Such was the mood of the evening that she'd even abandoned her plan to get Rebecca alone and question her about California; the young girl spent the whole night glued to Yugi's side anyway, trying to cheer him up.

As the group started to disperse for the night, it seemed to occur to her brother for the first time that she was in Domino. "Hey, Sis, where are you staying anyway?"

"Anzu's. Her parents have always been so nice to me, so when Otogi told me when you guys were coming home, I called them and asked if I could stay with them. It's just for one night; I promised Mom I'd be back in Tokyo for New Year's."

"Yeah, I'll come too," he said. "I promised you I would. All right then, if you're ready to go, why don't I walk you over to Anzu's?"

"I'm ready," she nodded.

They said good-bye to Yugi and his grandfather and made their way downstairs through the shop. There, her brother paused at the same counter where she'd found Anzu crying earlier.

"Man," he breathed looking suddenly bereft.

"What?" she asked, coming up beside him.

"It just hit me, being here, in the shop at the Duel Monsters counter. He's _gone_, Shizuka. He's gone and he's never coming back."

She put her hand on his shoulder. "How was it? How did it happen?"

A sort of choking laugh escaped him. "A duel, of course. He had to 'put down his sword' or something, which meant he had to lose a ceremonial duel. We all wanted to be the one to do it. I mean, we didn't want him to go, but it was the right thing to do, you know? Me and Kaiba even fought over it."

"Kaiba was there?" she asked, surprised.

"Yeah. He showed up not long after we did, I guess. Turns out he and the other—" He stopped short. "He and Atem were cousins in a previous life."

"Atem?" she asked.

"That's his name. The other Yugi. His name is Atem."

"Really?" She said the name, rolling it around on her tongue. It felt weird, like it didn't quite fit right.

"Yeah, it's kinda hard to get used to, ain't it?"

"So who dueled him? You or Kaiba?"

"Neither," he replied. "It was Yugi."

Her eyes widened in surprise. "Yugi? How…?"

"They split apart. It was the freakiest thing ever. Yugi put all the Millennium Items back in the stone tablet where they belonged and then suddenly he just… split apart. And there was the two of them."

"And Yugi actually beat him?"

"Yep."

"And then what?"

"And then he walked into this doorway into this big light and that was that," he said, his voice wavering at the end.

She squeezed his shoulder. "It was the right thing to do, right?"

"Yeah, right," he agreed, covering her hand with his. "It was the right thing to do. Still feels lousy though. And Yugi… he's really starting to feel it, I can tell."

"Anzu, too. She was pretty upset earlier. That's why she left."

He closed his eyes and nodded. "Yeah. It's gonna take her a while, I think. It's hard because it _seems_ the same, you know? Yugi's still here."

"But it isn't the same."

"No." He sighed. "But it doesn't have to be the same. It'll be good this way, too. I know it will be. We just all need time."

"Time to grieve," she agreed.

"Yeah. Time to grieve. And to remember. This time, no one will forget his name. Atem," he said, reverently. "His name is Atem. Except…"

"Except what?"

"Except… we'll never forget Atem. But to us, he'll still always be the other Yugi."

She smiled. "You know what, Big Brother? I don't think he'd have it any other way."


	24. Good night

**Author's note: **With the last chapter, we've officially reached the end of canon. The remaining seven themes will be my own vision of what everyone might be doing in the next couple of post-canon years. Your mileage may vary. For what it's worth, this fits within the same continuity as my other post-canon fics. **SPOILERS** for the end of the series.

**Rating: **K+

* * *

**#24 Good night**

The night Jounouchi Katsuya graduated from high school was a good night. He hadn't expected it to be. He'd thought the afternoon ceremony in particular would be completely anti-climactic with him standing alone to the side while his friends took pictures with their family members. Anzu's parents would make a huge fuss. Honda's mother and sister would weep loudly and embarrass him. Even Yugi's mostly absent mother and Bakura's distant father were both flying in from overseas to attend. Jounouchi alone would be the one who was, well, alone.

Except… that's now how it happened. When the graduating seniors entered the gymnasium, single-file in their blue caps and gowns, there in the third row right between Yugi's mother and Honda's sister sat Shizuka and… his mother. Jounouchi blinked as Shizuka gave a small proud wave and his mother smiled nervously.

It had been mostly Anzu's doing, he found out later. Each student had been given a handful of tickets to give to family members for the ceremony and as Anzu had both sets of grandparents plus at least a dozen aunts and uncles coming in for the occasion, he thought his would go to better use in her hands. His mother and sister wouldn't come because his father would be there, only his father had no interest in being there at all. Jounouchi had shrugged it off as unimportant, but she'd seen through him and sent two tickets on to Shizuka, who had then pestered their mother, insisting their father wouldn't be there and someone needed to be. And so they'd come.

"I'm proud of you, Katsuya," his mother said after the ceremony. "You've grown into a fine young man. I… I wish I could take some credit for that," she said, faltering.

He wasn't sure what to say to that. "Thanks Ma," was all he could manage, as he leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. It was, he realized at that moment, the first time he'd given or received a kiss from his mother since the morning she left him, taking his sister with her.

Shizuka, naturally, was much less reserved. She threw her arms around his neck, unabashedly sobbing. "I can't believe you're a high school graduate!" she cried.

"Never thought I'd make it, huh Sis?" he joked.

"What? Of course I knew you'd make it, you moron!" she shot back. "I'm just so happy you're going to be moving out and I can come and visit you whenever I want!"

"You better believe it, Sis. Anytime."

Both his mother and sister came to the party Yugi's grandfather and mother threw at the game shop that evening. With cheeks aching from smiling for all the pictures and necks stiff from bowing in gratitude over congratulations received, the graduates along with Shizuka made their escape upstairs to Yugi's bedroom. _My bedroom soon_, Jounouchi thought with a mixture of anticipation and dread.

He couldn't wait to get away from his father, to come and work for Gramps and live here in a place where he was wanted, where he wouldn't have to trip over empty beer and bourbon bottles or worry about disturbing yet another hangover. But when he did come here, it would mean Yugi was gone, off to Cairo with Professor Hawkins to study Egyptology. Honda and Anzu would be gone, too. Anzu had enrolled in a dance school in New York, her lifelong dream. Honda had joined the Japanese Ground Self Defense Force and would be off to boot camp.

But there was time yet. It was only the end of March and Yugi and Honda weren't leaving until the beginning of May, with Anzu leaving a couple weeks later. For now they had six weeks. Six weeks of freedom. No school. No work. No hassles.

No other Yugi.

But that was okay, too. In the three months since his… departure, for lack of a better word, they'd adjusted. It hadn't even been that hard, at least not for him and Honda. Yugi was as Yugi had always been and the other Yugi—Atem—had been not entirely separate to them, so things didn't seem nearly as hard as he thought they'd be.

For Yugi himself, it had been more difficult, but he'd accepted his other self's absence with greater aplomb than Jounouchi would've thought possible. "It's weird how it doesn't feel as different as I thought it would," he'd told them. "I'd thought it would be like before he came, but I don't feel like that person at all anymore. In some ways, it's like he's still with me."

Jounouchi wasn't surprised. How could Yugi possibly feel the same as he had before his other self had entered his life? Their time together had changed him, changed both of them. He was no longer the person he was before Atem, nor was he the person he was with Atem. He was a new being altogether. One that was a little bit the old Yugi, a little bit the King of Games, and a little bit something else entirely.

Even Anzu had adjusted. After spending a week avoiding them so she could grieve alone, she'd allowed Yugi to pull her back into their circle and everything seemed good. Normal. _Too_ normal, actually, since the bulk of their friendship over the last three years consisted of fighting off psychotic creeps with nothing more than a deck of cards and a holographic duel disk.

God, he was gonna miss it.

But tonight was a night for celebration. They were high school graduates. They were alive. They were together, for six more weeks anyway. And even Shizuka was with them and he didn't have to worry about her getting swallowed up by some living version of a Duel Monster or a dark game.

"I'm so jealous of all you guys," Shizuka told them. "I wish I was done with school."

"It's only two more years," Anzu said.

"Do you know what you wanna do after high school?" Honda asked, sliding a little too close to Shizuka. Jounouchi glared at him.

Shizuka lowered her head, embarrassed. "Well, I dunno. I kinda want…" She took a breath and started again. "I've been going to doctors my whole life and they've always been kinda big and scary. Eventually I got used to them and even would joke around with my regular Ophthalmologist a lot, but still, when I think of doctors, I always have this impression of kind of mean gods. They hold life in their hands and they know it.

"That's part of why I was afraid to have the surgery, I think. Well, it was way more complicated than that, but it was part of it. Then after the surgery when I was still in the hospital, I met a little boy named Kento who was there for a bunch of tests he was afraid to take. He ran into my room to escape the nurses and I helped him hide and then we watched Big Brother's duel with Insector Haga online. He kept thinking Big Brother would lose every time he got in a tight spot, but I kept telling him to have faith, that you can't give up. When Big Brother won the duel, it really motivated Kento to be brave and to not let the doctors intimidate him just because they're so big and powerful, just like Big Brother didn't let Haga intimidate him just because he had more powerful cards."

"Hey!" Jounouchi protested. "He did not have more powerful cards! I could kick his—"

"Oh, shut up, Jounouchi, and let her continue," Anzu chastised him.

"Then when we were on Kaiba's air ship for the Battle City finals and everyone was getting hurt, I kept remembering how the doctors were so cold and matter-of-fact about how Mai and Big Brother were doing. I keep remembering Honda shouting at them to do something, and even though I know they're not all-powerful, it was like they didn't care that they couldn't help. It was so frustrating.

"Ever since then, I've been thinking that it shouldn't be that way. Doctors are supposed to be healers, right? They're not gods. They're just people with a lot of skill and training. And I was thinking, I could have that skill and that training. I could do what they do, only I could do it in a way that comforted people, too. And then, I dunno." She looked down, embarrassed again. "Then maybe I could help people the way you all have."

"So you wanna be doctor?" Yugi asked. "That's really cool, Shizuka. I think you'd be really good at it."

"Me too," Honda hastened to add, and Jounouchi glared at him again.

Anzu also chimed in with support for the idea, but Bakura and Jounouchi were silent.

"Bakura-kun?" Yugi asked, noticing their friend's silence. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, Yugi," Bakura said quietly. "It's just… she's right about all the things you all have done, and it bothers me to know that I caused so much of it."

"It wasn't you," Yugi protested, and they all added their agreement.

"Not completely," Bakura capitulated, "but I don't feel as if I'm entirely without blame, either. Everything that happened over the last couple of years is going to take me some time to process, you know? I wish… I just wish that I had been stronger. That I had been able to control it."

"It wasn't your fault," Yugi insisted. "No one could've controlled something like that."

"_You_ did."

Yugi looked down, his blond forelocks falling in front of his face and shielding his eyes. "Not really. I didn't even know the other… Atem was there at first. And then later we worked as a team, but only because he allowed it. I wouldn't have been strong enough to stop him if he really didn't want me to."

It wasn't true, Jounouchi knew, and all the others knew it, too, but arguing with him would've just made Bakura feel worse, so no one said anything.

"I should go," Bakura said suddenly. "I'm leaving for England in a few days and there are a million things I need to do first."

"Please stay, Bakura-kun," Yugi said, reaching out to him. "Who knows when we'll see you again once you leave. This is our night to celebrate our accomplishments, not to dwell on painful memories."

Bakura met his eyes for a moment, and then Anzu added, "Yes, Bakura, please stay."

"Yeah, dude, it's graduation night, you don't wanna be packing tonight," Honda said.

Bakura gave them a weak smile. "All right, if you insist. Thank you."

They changed the subject, sharing school memories that had nothing to do with Duel Monsters, Egyptian artifacts, or possessing spirits, but Jounouchi mostly stayed on the periphery, his thoughts far away. Shizuka wanted to be a doctor. That meant six years of undergraduate work at university—and a real university, not just a community college like where he was thinking of maybe taking a class here and there. And then after that, four years doctoral work.

That was _ten years_ of schooling. Who was going to pay for all that? Their mother? Certainly she'd want to, but Jounouchi knew she was still in debt from all of Shizuka's medical expenses for the first thirteen years of her life. The Duelist Kingdom prize money had paid for all the expenses related to the operation itself, but there had been nothing left over to help pay off earlier debts. How was she going to be able to afford ten years of medical school?

Their father wasn't even worth thinking about. Even without taking into account his complete unwillingness to recognize any obligation toward his daughter whatsoever, any money that he might have saved for her education had been spent at the horse track or casino long ago.

But if Shizuka wanted to be a doctor, then by God she was going to be a doctor, Jounouchi vowed. There were still two years for him to start saving up. And once all his friends left Domino, he would have nothing to do in his spare time but look into scholarships and tuition reductions at various universities around Japan. Maybe even Domino University…

"You're awfully quiet," Shizuka said, and he was surprised to see that she had slipped up beside him.

He smiled. "I'm just thinking about what you said about wanting to be a doctor. That is so cool. You'd be really good at it."

She smiled and blushed. "Thanks. That means a lot to me, that you believe in me, Big Brother."

"Always." He took her hand and squeezed it. "We're a team, right?"

"Right," she agreed, squeezing his hand back.

There was a knock on the door and then Yugi's grandfather poked his head in. "All right you high school graduates. Us old folks are getting tired. Your folks are all getting ready to head home, but you kids can stay up if you'd like, or even go out and celebrate. Just come down and say good night, first."

"Thanks, Grandpa," Yugi said. "We'll be right down."

Gramps nodded and withdrew, closing the door behind him and they all got up and stretched.

"I'm starved," Jounouchi announced. "Let's go get some pizza or something."

"You're always hungry," Anzu complained.

"I'd rather do Burger World," Yugi put in, but Anzu groaned.

"Not on my night off, please!"

"Tempura?" Shizuka suggested.

"No, Okonomiyaki," Honda put in.

"We can figure it out after we say good night to everyone," Yugi said, cutting off the brewing argument as he headed for the door. The others followed him out of the room and through the house to the stairs that led down into the game shop.

"It is a good night, isn't it?" Shizuka asked.

"You made it one, Sis. Thanks for coming. And even for bringing Mom."

She took his hand again and gave it another squeeze. "We _had_ to be here. I'm so proud of you, Big Brother."

"Not as proud as I am of you, _Dr_. Kawai," he grinned, and she giggled. "Now let's go see off the old people so we can go get some food."


	25. Fence

**A/N: **A drabble! Because I'm lazy!

**Rating: **K

* * *

**#25 Fence**

Jounouchi was on the fence. On the one hand, Domino University had a good medical school, he could get a second job there and get nearly-free tuition for his family members, and he and Shizuka would be together full-time if she went to school there.

On the other hand, their father lived in Domino.

Their mother would almost certainly balk at the idea of Shizuka going to university in the same town as their father. Jounouchi wasn't crazy about it, either. But it would get Shizuka her medical degree, and he would kiss the devil himself to make that happen.


	26. If only I could make you mine

**Rating: **K+

**

* * *

**

**#26 If only I could make you mine**

"Isn't she beautiful?"

"Big Brother, you're drooling."

"Well, _yeah_. I mean, come on, _look_ at her! We'd be a perfect match!"

Shizuka rolled her eyes. "So why are you just standing here drooling like an idiot? Go for it!"

"Are you _kidding_ me? Look again, Sis. Totally out of my league."

Shizuka leaned forward, peering through the glass to get a better look. "Oh, I don't know, I think you're selling yourself short. You're not a high school kid with a paper route anymore. You've got two jobs and Yugi's grandfather is giving you room and board pretty cheap, so you must've saved up some money. And you're one of the top duelists in Japan! Live a little, you totally deserve it!"

Jounouchi sighed, looking wistfully through the glass. "Nah, it takes like ten thousand yen to land a baby like that."

"Still…" Shizuka said.

"Jounouchi Katsuya! Are you _still_ ogling that Last Turn card?"

Jounouchi straightened as Yugi's grandfather came into the shop from the back storeroom. "Sorry, Gramps. Just showing her to my kid sister."

"Tch," Grandpa shook his head. "He's been lusting after that card since I got it a week ago," he told Shizuka. "I even caught him kissing the display case the other day."

"That's not true!" Jounouchi protested, but Shizuka laughed.

"Jounouchi, I told you, you're better off with some other card. Even though Last Turn is very rare, it's a gambler's card. Very risky."

"I know, that's just the point! My whole deck is a gambler's deck. I'm a lucky guy, Gramps," Jounouchi grinned, leaning on the glass counter.

"What does it do?" Shizuka asked.

"It's a trap card, one only to be used as a last ditch effort," Grandpa explained, swatting Jounouchi's arm off the counter. "You can only activate it when you have less than one thousand Life Points. You select one monster card on your side of the field and all other cards on the field and in both players' hands go to the graveyard. Then your opponent special summons any monster left in his deck and that monster attacks your monster. Whoever's monster wins automatically wins the duel."

"So if your opponent has any monster in his deck with higher attack points than yours, you lose," Shizuka said.

"Exactly. Its success relies completely upon your opponent having only monsters in his deck weaker than the one you have on the field," Grandpa says.

"You've seen it in action, Sis, remember? Kaiba played it in the Virtual World against Noah."

Shizuka raised an eyebrow at him. "You're saying you want a card _Kaiba_ has in his deck?"

Jounouchi scowled. "It isn't in his actual deck. It was in his _virtual_ deck."

"And didn't he lose that duel?" Shizuka pointed out.

"See, it isn't even a good card for a player with Kaiba's skill," Grandpa crowed.

"Well maybe he's _not_ skilled enough to use a gambler's card," Jounouchi growled. "And it would be a great card to use _against_ a player like him. His whole deck is set up to get all his Blue-Eyes onto the field as quickly as possible. If I had Red-Eyes on the field and Last Turn facedown after he'd played all his Blue-Eyes, I could totally kick his—"

"Jounouchi," Grandpa warned. "Kaiba has plenty of powerful monsters. Most players do. A true duelist relies on strategy and skill and his connection to his cards, not on luck."

"I'm telling you, Gramps, it ain't all luck. This card could save a duel gone bad in one stroke." He looked at it under the counter, mint condition, gold foil print. "I wish I could have this baby in my deck when I go to Nationals," he sighed.

"So buy it," Shizuka said.

"Ten _thousand_ yen, Shizuka. For one card. As opposed to about four-fifty for a whole booster pack."

"So? You have, like, no expenses. Splurge!"

Jounouchi bit his lip. He had to save every single yen he could if he wanted to have enough money to pay for her to go to medical school, and her high school graduation was just a little over a year away. He knew, however, that she wouldn't want him to go without for her sake. "I just don't wanna spend so much in one drop," he told her.

She shrugged. "Then stop moaning over it."

"A guy can dream, can't he?" Jounouchi asked.

* * *

"So how's everyone doing?" Shizuka asked. She was stretched out on her stomach on the sofa in Yugi's room—even after living here for seven months Jounouchi could still only think of this as Yugi's room—while Jounouchi was online checking his e-mail. "Anyone coming back for New Year's?"

"I wish," Jounouchi sighed. "Honda's stuck in Okinawa and Anzu's parents are in New York doing the whole American Christmas thing with her. She says they just go nuts during Christmas over there. Everyone gives everyone presents."

"Sounds cool," Shizuka replied. "I wish I could go."

"I'd rather be with Yugi," Jounouchi said. "He doesn't say anything in his e-mails, but I bet it's a tough time for him, being the anniversary of when the other—when Atem left."

"At least his grandfather will be with him," Shizuka said. "When does he leave?"

"Tomorrow morning. And then it's just me running the store by myself until we close up for New Year's and head back to Tokyo."

"Whaddaya mean by yourself?" Shizuka protested, sitting up. "I'm here.'

"Well, yeah, but you're not here to work. You're on vacation."

"I can still help," she said.

"Nah," he smiled, turning away from the computer to face her. "I'm just glad you're here. It'd be a pretty lonely holiday without you."

"It's so cool getting to stay right here with you without worrying about… well, you know," Shizuka said, pulling her knees up to her chin and wrapping her arms around them.

"Forget about him. He's out of both our lives now," Jounouchi said, clenching his teeth.

"Yeah, you're right," Shizuka agreed. "So whaddaya wanna do today since you have the day off for the Emperor's birthday?"

Jounouchi shrugged. "Not a lot of stuff open."

"There's enough snow to build a snowman or something," she suggested.

"Or get your butt kicked in a snowball fight?"

"You wish!"

Jounouchi logged off the computer and they headed downstairs through the shop to go outside.

"Where are you kids off to?" Grandpa asked.

"Just out to enjoy the snow," Shizuka answered while Jounouchi stopped to take another look at the Last Turn card. When she saw him, Shizuka groaned, "Oh, just quit pining and buy it already."

"Nah, Gramps is right, it'd just be a waste," Jounouchi replied with a sigh.

"Did I just hear you say I was right about something? I think I'll mark this day on the calendar!" Grandpa laughed. "Well, you kids have fun. I'll put on some green tea so you can have some when you come in."

"Thanks, Gramps!" Jounouchi waved as he had Shizuka headed out. "Okay, Sis, prepare to be annihilated."

Of course, it was Jounouchi who got annihilated, his clothes soaked through from Shizuka's merciless snowball attacks. As promised, there was green tea hot and waiting when they returned, but Jounouchi needed to change into something dry first. When he returned, there was not only tea but ramen ready for them. Jounouchi sat down next to Shizuka to eat while Grandpa went off to pack for his trip to Cairo.

"I think Yugi's grandpa is the coolest guy ever," Shizuka sighed. "Can we adopt him?"

Jounouchi smiled. "We don't have to. He's already adopted us."

* * *

It was when Jounouchi was helping bring Grandpa's luggage out to the taxi late Christmas Eve morning when he saw that the Last Turn card—_his_ Last Turn card—was no longer in its usual place in the display counter.

"Hey Gramps, where's my card?"

"What card?" Grandpa asked, distracted, as he tried to juggle his carry-on bag and a huge care package for Yugi.

"The Last Turn card."

"Since when is that _your_ card? Wasn't it just yesterday you said I was right, that it was a waste?"

"But where is it?" Jounouchi pressed.

"I sold it," Grandpa replied.

Jounouchi blanched. "You sold my card?"

"It wasn't your card."

"But… when? It was here yesterday before Shizuka and I went out, and we was closed for the Emperor's Birthday."

"I sold it this morning," Grandpa replied, setting the care package down on the counter so he could hoist the carry-on bag back up onto his shoulder. "Maybe if you hadn't slept in and had been here when we opened… And I certainly hope you won't be doing that while I'm gone, by the way."

"But… my card! How could you?"

Grandpa sighed. "This is a business, Jounouchi. I can't afford to hang onto every card you develop a sentimental attachment to. A customer was very interested in that card and made me an offer I couldn't refuse."

"You… oh please, you are the most sentimental player in the biz! You still have that taped-up Blue-Eyes that Kaiba tore up."

"True, but I'm still running a business here and that was a ten-thousand yen card. I had to sell it, Jounouchi. You said you weren't going to buy it."

Jounouchi gnashed his teeth. "Nah, you're right. I couldn't afford it. But still, it was nice having it around."

"Well, welcome to the game shop business," Grandpa said. "Now are you going to help me get my bags out to the taxi or do you want me to miss my plane?"

Jounouchi started moving again. "No, definitely don't want you to miss your plane. Say hi to Yuge for me, 'kay? Tell him I wish I could be there, too. I know it's kind of a rough time of year."

"I think he'll be fine, but I'll tell him," Grandpa replied. "If I make my plane, that is."

"Okay, okay, I'm coming."

* * *

Jounouchi woke up early Christmas morning because it was his first day running the shop on his own and he didn't want to open late. He let Shizuka sleep in—she was on vacation, after all—and went downstairs to do a little organizing before he opened. When he went to unlock the cash register, he found a small package wrapped in red foil with a big green bow sitting on the counter next to the register. His name was printed on it in Shizuka's handwriting and _Merry Christmas_ written in English below. Frowning, he picked up the package. _A Christmas present? What am I, eight?_

He pulled off the bow and tore open the paper. Lifting the lid off the box inside, he found a folded up piece of notepaper. When he unfolded it, something fluttered out and fell to the floor. He stooped down to pick it up, turning it over in his hands, and then froze when he saw what it was.

It was the Last Turn card.

Blinking, he stood up and laid the card down on the counter while he read the note that had been folded around it.

_Katsuya—_

_Grandpa told me why you won't buy yourself the card. I can't believe you're saving money for me to go to med school! Well, I don't suppose I should be surprised. You've put me first your entire life, haven't you? I won't try and talk you out of it—you're too stubborn for that. But I can't let you always go without things that are important to you just for me._

_Anzu says that in America everyone gives Christmas presents to their friends and family, not just to children, so it seemed right to give you a present. It's such a small thing after everything you've done for me._

_And don't worry about the money. I wasn't supposed to tell you, but Yugi's grandpa sold me the card at half price, so it really is a present from both of us. Just don't tell him you know. He still thinks it's a bad card, but he really loves you and wants you to be happy. He really has adopted us, I think._

_Merry Christmas, Big Brother. And thank you for everything._

_Love, _

_Shizuka_


	27. Overflow

**Rating: M **(for language)

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**#27 Overflow**

Jounouchi wasn't really paying attention to his sister. He was too busy flirting with their waitress, trying to gauge whether she was flirting back merely in hopes of getting a better tip or because she might actually be interested in going out with him. But when Shizuka hissed in a sharp breath of air, he forgot all about the waitress and looked at his sister, alarmed to see that her eyes were huge and round and her face drained of all color.

"What's wrong?"

She didn't answer, but was staring beyond him, so he turned to look over his shoulder… and almost dropped his coffee cup.

Their father had just walked into the coffee shop.

Their father. Jounouchi Raidon. Into a _coffee shop_. Where they didn't serve any alcohol. What were the odds?

"Shit," Jounouchi swore under his breath, his head snapping back toward his sister as he slid down in his seat, hoping they wouldn't be noticed, his eyes already searching for another exit while Shizuka gripped her napkin so tightly her knuckles were as white as her face.

"Everything all right?" the waitress asked.

"Yeah, we're good, we just need the check if you don't mind," Jounouchi replied through clenched teeth. She gave him a quizzical look, then laid their tab down on the table and left. He dug into his wallet without looking at the total, pulled out a thousand-yen note, and slapped it down on top of the check. "Okay, let's just get outta here before—"

"Well, well, wouldja look here. If it isn't my very own son. How long's it been, boy? A year maybe?"

Jounouchi gritted his teeth and stood up to face his father, putting himself between him and Shizuka. "Been busy, working and stuff."

"Too busy to stop by and visit your old man?"

"Hardly seemed worth the effort," he shot back. "It's not like you knew I was there when I _lived_ there."

Raidon's face darkened. "Watch how you talk to me, boy."

Jounouchi pulled himself up to his full height. He'd grown an inch or so in the year since he'd graduated high school, putting him a good two or three inches taller than his father, and he easily was in much better shape. "Or what?" he growled.

"Katsuya, don't," he heard Shizuka whisper behind him but he ignored her, trying to keep their father's attention on him.

Raidon met his gaze a moment, answering the challenge, and then he backed off with a smirk, his eyes darting past Jounouchi to Shizuka. "Aren't you gonna introduce me to your little girlfriend here?"

Jounouchi's eyes widened in surprise. He didn't recognize her! Well, of course not. She'd been all of seven the last time he'd seen her. "No, Dad, I don't think so. We was just leaving." He looked over his shoulder at Shizuka, indicating with a jerk of his head that they should go. She nodded and stood up and he put his hand protectively at the small of her back, guiding her past their father.

He scrutinized her as they went past, then suddenly he frowned. "Wait. _Shizuka_?"

They both froze.

"Shizuka, is that you?"

"Hi Dad," Shizuka squeaked.

"Holy shit, girl, just look at you! All grown up! You look just like your mother."

"I… thanks," she stammered.

"Dad, we're kinda in a hurry here," Jounouchi cut in. _Please just let me get her the hell out of here, she doesn't need this shit._

"I think you can spare a minute to let me get a look at my own daughter who I haven't seen in, what, seven, eight years?"

"Ten," Jounouchi bit out, "and it's a little late to take an interest now, so if you don't mind—"

"Ten years," Raidon whistled. "No wonder you're so grown up."

"Thank you," Shizuka said again, so ill at ease that Jounouchi was wishing the place would just catch on fire or something, anything to distract his father so they could get the hell away from him.

Then Raidon frowned, leaning in to look at her more closely. She flinched and instinctively backed away a step while Jounouchi slid in front of her, putting himself between them once more. "Wait a minute," their father said, "Shouldn't you have a cane or a dog or something? I thought you was supposed to be blind by now."

Jounouchi clenched his fists. "She had an operation when she was fourteen, Dad. They fixed her eyes."

Raidon seemed to consider this, then shook his head with a nasty smile. "You gotta be kidding me. You gotta be _fucking_ kidding me. Just like that. 'They fixed her eyes.' All of that _shit_ your mother put us through over this. All of that drama and that _whining_, 'Shizuka's eyes _this'_ and 'Shizuka's eyes _that_.' All for fucking nothing. What a fucking _waste_."

Jounouchi heard Shizuka suck in another sharp breath of air and then he snapped. All of the rage he'd held in for ten years—no, _seventeen_ years, since the day she was _born_—overflowed into his fists and with a roar of fury he launched himself at his father, hitting him in the jaw hard enough to send him flying backwards into the next table. Coffee shop patrons scrambled to get out of their way and he heard the waitress he'd been flirting with shout something while Shizuka begged, "Katsuya, please don't, let's just leave," but he was too angry to care. He just stood over his father as the older man tried to get to his feet.

"You stay away from us, do you understand? And you especially stay away from her. You don't get to even so much as say her _name_, am I making myself clear?"

Raidon looked up at him, his eyes full of hate as he rubbed his jaw.

"DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?" Jounouchi shouted, leaning over him.

His father said nothing.

A burly man from the kitchen approached them. "I'm sorry, but I'm gonna have to ask you to leave or I'm gonna call the police," he said in a voice that left no room for debate.

"Fine, we were just on our way out," Jounouchi replied, still glaring down at his father. The kitchen guy tried to take him by the arm to usher him out, but Jounouchi shook him off. "Get your hands offa me, I'm going!" he snapped, then put his hand at Shizuka's back and guided her around their father as he was getting to his feet. The kitchen guy stayed with them until they were out the door, then Shizuka grabbed his arm and dragged him away as quickly as she could. As soon as they were well clear of the place, he shook out his aching hand. "Owww," he complained, pressing his hand to his mouth and kissing his sore knuckles. "That _hurt_."

"It serves you right, you idiot," Shizuka chided him, but her voice sounded weak and shaky. "You shouldn't have done that, Katsuya. He's so not worth it."

He stopped abruptly and turned to face her, dropping his hand from his mouth and taking her by both her shoulders. "You're right, Shizuka, he isn't worth it. But _you_ are. And don't ever doubt that. Not ever."


	28. Wada Calcium CD3

**Author's note: **This was a drabble gone horribly wrong. I just couldn't fit what I wanted to say into a hundred words, but it's still rather short because any more would've been too much. And Wada Calcium CD3? Go ask the folks at 30 Kisses why it's a theme. I'm just following orders. ;)

**Rating: **K

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**#28 Wada Calcium CD3**

"You okay?"

Shizuka was absently fiddling with a small white bottle as they sat at the kitchen table. "What is this stuff? 'Wada Calcium CD3'?" she asked, reading the label and avoiding Jounouchi's question.

"I dunno. Something Gramps takes. It's for his bones or something."

She looked up at him. "Does it ever seem weird, living with someone else's grandfather?"

He shrugged. "I like it. Listen Sis, about what happened in the coffee shop—"

"It must be different, living here," she cut him off, then she looked up at him. "You know, Katsuya, sometimes I get so mad at Mom for what she did to you. Sometimes I even have trouble forgiving her for it. But for me… she was always there for me. I always had someone who wanted me. You, though, with _him_…." Her face darkened into an angry scowl.

"It's ancient history, okay? It's all good now," he told her, reaching out to touch her hand.

"Still…"

"Oh, hello kids," Yugi's grandfather said, coming into the kitchen from the store downstairs, "I didn't know you were back. Did you have a nice day off?"

Jounouchi and Shizuka traded glances then Jounouchi said, "Yeah, it was fine."

Grandpa leaned against the kitchen counter beside the table. "Hey listen, I was thinking. I know you kids have better things to do than hang out with an old man, but if you're free tonight, maybe, I thought we could rent a DVD and pop some popcorn. Not very exciting, I know, but, well, if you didn't have anything planned," he shrugged, somewhat sheepishly.

Abruptly, Shizuka got up from her seat, the chair making a loud screech as it scraped back along the kitchen floor. She went over to Yugi's grandfather and bent down to give him a soft kiss on the cheek, then turned and walked out of the kitchen.

Grandpa put his hand to his cheek, stunned. "What was that for?" he asked Jounouchi.

Jounouchi had half a mind to kiss the old man himself. "It means we'd love to watch a movie with you, Gramps."


	29. The sound of waves

**Rating: **K

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**#29 The sound of waves  
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"Can I open my eyes yet?" Shizuka complained, but with a touch of childish excitement in her voice.

"Oh, give it a rest, willya?" Jounouchi snapped fondly. "I'll tell you when we get there."

"But Big Brother, this is a little too much like after I had my operation, walking around with those bandages over my eyes." She tugged at the bandana he'd tied around her face, but he slapped her hand away.

"Don't think the pity card is gonna work either," he admonished. "But here's our stop. We're almost there."

The bus they were riding rolled to a halt with a screech of its brakes and Jounouchi steered his temporarily-blinded sister down the steps and onto the street into the hot summer sun. The duffle bag he was carrying slipped off his shoulder and he hoisted it back up while Shizuka clung to his other elbow so he could guide her.

"Okay, we just have to walk about five hundred meters more and then we're there."

They only went about a dozen more steps, however, when Shizuka stopped, her nose wrinkling under the bandana. "Is that… waves? I hear the ocean! I know where we are!" she squealed, and tore the bandana from her face before he could stop her.

"Hey, you're ruining the surprise!" he protested, but she flung herself onto his neck.

"I knew it! It's the beach! _Our_ beach!" she cried, squeezing him tightly. "Oh, Big Brother, you remembered!"

"Course I remembered," he sniffed. "I pinky-swore I'd bring you back here, and Jounouchi Katsuya never goes back on a pinky swear. It took ten years, but I'm a man of my word."

She kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you, Big Brother!" Then as if she were seven again, she took off at a run up the cliffside road, stopping when she reached the top of the hill.

"Wait up, wouldja?" Jounouchi called out. Panting, he caught up to her. "I can't believe you couldn't wait two more seconds, you cheater."

"What did you expect?" she laughed. "I was almost blind for like fourteen years. You put a blindfold on me, my ears are gonna automatically start working overtime." She sighed happily, looking down at the white sand and blue water stretching below them. "It's exactly as I remember it. And there's no one there! How can it be empty on a gorgeous summer day like today?"

"I ordered it up special for you," Jounouchi elbowed her, but when she gave him a dubious look, he said, "Okay, it's just not that popular 'cause it's small and hard to get to and there's no lifeguard or anything. I've only been here a few times myself since that day I brought you here."

"Mom was so mad, remember?" she grinned. "I thought you would be grounded for a month. You're lucky she let you off with just a week."

"Yeah, I guess it was pretty stupid coming down here by ourselves when we was so young." He sighed. "I thought I was so big and grown-up and could do anything."

"You were," she said, looking up at him. "You took care of me."

Blinking, he said, "Aw, c'mon, what are we standing up here for? Last one down to the water is a Larvae Moth!"

* * *

They spent the entire day at the beach, playing in the surf and building sand castles just like when they were kids. Jounouchi had brought bathing suits in his duffle bag, but Shizuka insisted they remain in their street clothes, just like they had ten years ago and by the time they ate the picnic lunch he'd also brought, his t-shirt and shorts were soaked through. After lunch they laid out under the sun to dry, only to get wet all over again when she dragged him into the waves once more. Like ten years before, they didn't even think about leaving until the sky was turning pink and the sun had disappeared behind the cliff.

"We should be heading back soon," Jounouchi said as they sat together on a rock looking out at the rose-tinted water. "We don't wanna miss the last bus and make Gramps drive all the way out here to get us."

"In a minute," she said, closing her eyes and breathing in the salt air. "I wanna capture everything about this day and remember it like I did the first one." She opened her eyes and turned to look at him. "That day, this place, it was one of my best memories ever, you know that? Anytime I got lonely or scared or I missed you, especially those couple of years when we didn't keep in touch, I would think of sitting here on this beach with you and I would remember that no matter what happened, there was always someone who loved me enough to make such a perfect day for me."

"Shut up, you're making me blush here," he grinned, nudging her with his elbow, but then he sobered. "It was one of my best memories ever, too, Sis. I'm sorry it took me so long to keep my promise."

"No, it's perfect," she said. "It was one of the last things we did together before we were separated. And now here it is a little more than six months before I graduate high school and I get to come here to go to college and live with you full-time again. This memory kept us going when we were apart, and now it will bring us back together for good. I think it would've ruined it to come back here any sooner."

"So when should we come back again?" he asked. "Another ten years?"

"Oh, I dunno. Maybe we should save it to mark important events. How 'bout you bring me here just before I get my medical degree? Or before I get married?"

He snorted. "Not a guy on the planet good enough to marry you, Sis."

"Great, I'll just join a convent then," she rolled her eyes.

"That works for me."

"You're such an idiot."

He heaved a dramatic sigh. "Okay, _if_ you can find some guy good enough for you—and that's a big if—I'll bring you here before you get married. And when you get your medical degree. And when you have your first kid."

She grinned at him. "You promise?"

He held out his pinky to her and she hooked hers with his. "I pinky-swear. And I never go back on a pinky-swear."


	30. Kiss

**A/N: **It's been a fun ride. I'm kinda sorry to see it end. A big thanks to the folks at the 30 Kisses LiveJournal community for a really fun concept (even if I messed with it by choosing a non-romantic pair).

**Rating: **T (minor language)

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_When dealing with a problem, there exists a frequent tendency toward complexification that can lead toward solutions that are far more burdensome than the problem._

--"The KISS Principle," Wikipedia

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**#30 Kiss**

There was something surreal about watching his little sister's high school graduation ceremony. It had been two years since Jounouchi's own graduation, which somehow managed to simultaneously feel like a lifetime ago and just yesterday, and now there was Shizuka, dressed in a dark green cap and gown, filing into the gymnasium with her classmates. His baby sister, whom he'd kissed on the top of her little pink cap the day she was born. How was it possible she was—or would be in a matter of moments anyway—a high school graduate?

Beside him, his mother beamed proudly. On his other side sat Honda, who had gotten leave just to be here for the graduation, and beside him, Yugi's grandfather, who had closed the shop for the occasion. Anzu had called the night before, full of apologies for not being able to come in from New York and Otogi had sent a dozen roses. Even Bakura had sent a card and most surprising of all, there was a letter from Yugi that he'd written last November and mailed to Gramps before he and Professor Hawkins had left Cairo for a six-month archaeological expedition somewhere in the middle of nowhere, Egypt. They were completely incommunicado and would be until May, but he'd actually thought of sending her a letter before he'd left and both Shizuka and Jounouchi had been touched.

Of the circle of friends Jounouchi had introduced Shizuka to nearly four years ago at the Battle City tournament, only Mai had failed to somehow mark the occasion. Jounouchi tried not to think about that too much, but he couldn't help but feel disappointed. She'd not contacted him since the whole Doma mess in California and he was to the point of giving up expecting to ever hear from her again, but he'd actually hoped maybe she'd write Shizuka, seeing as how they'd bonded during their brief time together at the Battle City finals. He refused to let her continued absence get to him, however. Everyone else had thought of Shizuka, and Jounouchi was ridiculously pleased by that. His friends—his _family_—had embraced his sister as one of their own.

After the ceremony and the obligatory twenty billion pictures their mother insisted on taking, there was a huge party back at her house. Jounouchi spent much of his time keeping not only Honda but several of the boys from Shizuka's class from gluing themselves to her side. He had to give up playing bodyguard, however, when she and many of her classmates left to attend her friend Mariko's party that evening. Yugi's grandfather left not long afterwards for the long trip back to Domino so he could open the game shop the next morning. Jounouchi and Honda were both staying another day and were at the kitchen table playing a game of Go when Gramps left.

"Mutou-san is a lovely man," Jounouchi's mother said as she dried some dishes. "It was so nice of him to come all the way to Tokyo just for Shizuka's graduation. It makes me wish your grandparents were still alive."

"Yeah, Gramps is a great guy," Jounouchi agreed, not looking up from his game.

"That was so cool of him to invite Shizuka to move in with you guys while she's at the university," Honda said, then looked up at Jounouchi's mother. "Do you need any help, Kawai-san?"

"No, no, you boys enjoy your game."

"Yugi's mom doesn't bother coming to Domino anymore now that Yugi's not there—not that she was around much even when he was—and Gramps said there was no point in her room going to waste," Jounouchi said, capturing three of Honda's stones.

Honda leaned forward and said quietly so Jounouchi's mother couldn't hear, "Dude, I think he just has a crush on her."

"Shut up, you pervert!" Jounouchi hissed, slapping Honda away.

While it was true that Gramps wasn't above ogling young women, Jounouchi couldn't afford to be anything other than grateful toward the old man. Ever since running into their father in that coffee shop last spring, he'd been paranoid about Shizuka moving to Domino, almost to the point of trying to talk her out of it. The more he thought about her living in the dorms, the less he liked it. He kept picturing her walking to the campus one night and running into their dad after he'd lost at the track or something, and the thought nearly paralyzed him. When Yugi's grandfather had offered Shizuka Yugi's mom's room for a rent so low it was almost insulting, Jounouchi had almost wept in relief and gratitude. The game shop always felt like a safe haven, and with Shizuka living in the next room instead of across town on campus, he felt more in control.

His mother, on the other hand, was still not happy about the arrangement. Putting down her towel, she sighed. "It was definitely a very generous offer," she said, and Jounouchi groaned inwardly, already knowing what was coming, "but I still wonder if University of Tokyo or Keio University wouldn't have been better choices."

Jounouchi leaned back in his seat wearily. "We've been over this Ma. First, it's Shizuka's decision and she wants to go to Domino. Second, if you have a way to pay for Tokyo or Keio or any of the five million other places you'd rather her go, I'm all ears."

She bit her lip, looking down at the counter and picking up her towel again. "I know I've failed to provide for her education, Katsuya, you needn't remind me."

"I, uh, gotta use the men's room," Honda said suddenly, getting up from his seat and retreating quickly, leaving Jounouchi alone with his mother.

"You haven't failed," Jounouchi ground out. "You got debts from all her medical expenses. I know that, and Shizuka does, too. If anyone's failed her, it's Dad. But the fact of the matter is, with me working at the student union at Domino U, she gets a cut rate and between that and her scholarships, she can afford it. That's the deal. That's been the deal since she decided she wanted to go to med school, so there's really no point in going round and round on it, is there? And it's a little late anyway. Her boxes are packed and she moves in a week."

"I know, I know," his mother said, slapping her hand down on the counter in frustration. "I know all that, Katsuya, I do! But even if she's living in that game shop with you, you can't be with her all the time. It's only a matter of time before she runs into your father, and…." She trailed off, shaking her head and turning away.

Jounouchi got up from his seat and went over to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I've been afraid of the same thing, ever since we ran into him last year, but—"

She turned toward him so suddenly his hand was jerked off her shoulder. "You _what_?"

Jounouchi swallowed. "Shizuka didn't tell you." It wasn't a question.

"Are you telling me you… she… What happened?"

"Nothing, Ma, okay, it was no big deal. In fact, that's probably why Shizuka never said anything. He saw us in a coffee shop, talked to us for like five seconds and then we took off, that's it."

"Don't you lie to me, Jounouchi Katsuya!" she cried. "I know your father better than that. What did he say to her?"

"He didn't say nothing, Ma," he insisted. "You think I'd let him talk to her?"

That was clearly the wrong thing to say. "See, that's exactly what I'm talking about, Katsuya! You can't be with her twenty-four hours a day. When she's visiting you, yes, but when she's living there? Eventually she's going to run into him and you won't be there to keep him from talking to her. What then?"

He folded his arms and glared at his mother. "Listen, Ma, I have been protecting Shizuka my entire life. When that bastard ranted about how she was messing up his perfect little life, I'm the one who held her and told her it wasn't true. Not you, _me_. When he came home completely plastered and started screaming swear words at the top of his lung, I'm the one she'd find to talk to her so she wouldn't have to listen anymore. Me. Until the day you took her away from me. And now that she's back in my life again, you can bet your ass I'm gonna keep protecting her and I don't need you to tell me how to do it, okay?" Angry, he turned away. "Tell Honda I'm in the guest room when he gets back. I'm going to bed." Without waiting for her to reply, he stormed out of the kitchen.

* * *

Honda had an early train the next morning and Jounouchi was returning from seeing him off at the train station when Shizuka poked her head out of her bedroom door, her hair sticking up at odd angles indicating she'd either just woken up or she'd decided to adopt Yugi's hairstyle.

"I missed saying good-bye to Honda, didn't I?" she asked, disappointed.

"Yeah," Jounouchi confirmed, "but we'll see him in a couple of months."

She smiled. "I can't wait! I can't believe we're all going to America for a tournament and we'll finally get to see everyone again."

"I dunno, Sis, I'm still not sure taking a couple weeks off a month into your first semester is the greatest plan."

"It'll be fine," she said, dismissing his worries with a wave of her hand. Opening the door further, she beckoned him in. "Come here a sec, I wanna talk to you."

He followed her into her room. It always made him think of that very first videotape she'd sent him when she was nine. It looked different, of course, no longer decorated with pink frills and stuffed animals but rather with posters of boy bands and movie stars, and now with boxes she was packing for her move to Domino, but even so, her room still never failed to evoke an image of a nine-year-old with her hair pulled back in a ponytail, smacking on a piece of chewing gum. "Looks like you're all ready for the big move," he said, touching one of the boxes with his toe.

"Pretty much," she replied. "It's hard to narrow down everything I wanna take, you know? I don't wanna flood poor Gramps's house with all my junk."

"Are you kidding? He'll love having a girl around," Jounouchi said, then grimaced as he remembered what Honda had said.

Shizuka sat down on her bed and peered up at him. "So Big Brother, can you explain to me why when I got home last night Mom went into a tirade about us running into Dad last year?"

He sighed. "How was I supposed to know you didn't tell her already? You tell her everything!"

"Are you nuts?" she protested. "The way she obsesses about me seeing him, I'm gonna just come out and tell her that I did? She was already freaked enough about me moving there without hearing about that."

"Yeah, well she doesn't have to worry about that with me around. I can protect you."

Shizuka folded her arms. "You're as bad as she is, you know that? It's not that big a deal to begin with!"

"Oh yeah, right. You were only upset for two days afterwards, and that was with me there. What if you run into him alone, Shizuka?"

"So, what if I do? What's he gonna do, tell me I'm worthless? I already know he thinks that!"

"Who knows what he'll do?" Jounouchi said darkly. "And I'm not really crazy about finding out."

"I _don't care,_" she insisted, standing up to face him, "'cause you know what? The worst thing that could ever happened to me because of him already happened—I lost you. But now I have you back and he can't take you away ever again, so what can he do? Call me worthless? Say I messed up his life? Hit me?"

Jounouchi closed his eyes and clenched his fists tightly at his side. "I'll kill him if he does."

"You're not helping!"

"Well, what do you want me to say, Shizuka?" he demanded, opening his eyes to look at her again. "I can't make him go away!"

"Why not? God, Katsuya, think about it! We've spent our whole lives trying to figure out how to get around Dad. Our _whole lives._ Everything was about him. How to avoid him, how to not piss him off, how to ignore the awful things he says. And then…." She looked up at him, a pained expression in her eyes. "And then Mom took me away from you, all to keep me away from _Dad_. I couldn't visit you because of _Dad_. And now we're all panicked about me living in Domino because of _Dad_. I'm sick of it!"

"But we can't do anything about it 'cause he's in Domino and you'll be in Domino. That's just the way it is!"

Frustrated, she flopped back down on the bed again. "This is so stupid."

Just as frustrated, he kicked at one of her boxes, knocking it over by accident, sending a pile of sweaters flying.

"Oh great, now I get to re-pack," she grumbled.

"Never mind, I got it," he muttered back. Bending down, he scooped up the sweaters and threw them back into the box."

"Don't just throw them in there, you have to fold them," she instructed.

"Fine." He pulled them out again and folded them, placing them back into the box more carefully this time. When he had the last sweater returned to the box, he folded down the top. "Winter clothes" was scrawled across the top in thick black marker, and then something else underneath. Scratching his head, he looked at the four Roman letters: _K I S S_. "Kiss?" he read in English, puzzled. "Why did you write 'kiss' in English on your box?"

"Not kiss," she replied. "K-I-S-S. It's an English acronym. It stands for 'keep it simple, stupid.'"

"Uh, okaaaay," he said, not any less confused. "And you wrote it on your box because…?"

"Because I was having trouble packing. I wanted to bring my whole life with me to Domino, but I don't really need everything. So I wrote that on the boxes to remind myself to simplify." She sat up and gave him a thoughtful look. "You know what, that's the whole problem."

"What is?"

She shook her head slowly. "We don't keep it simple. Our whole lives have been this one long convoluted solution to a simple problem: Dad. To the point where the cure is worse than the disease, you know? We need to… 'keep it simple, stupid,'" she said in English.

"And how do we do that?"

"We don't let him control us. He's out of our lives, right? So let's not let him control us anymore. I'll come to Domino and go to med school and we'll be together and it'll all be good and there's not a damn thing he can do about it. Simple."

Jounouchi took a big breath. "I wish it really were that simple."

"It can be."

He nodded. "Okay, I hear you. We're gonna enjoy this. It's our time, Sis."

She smiled. "Yeah. Just think, Big Brother. It's been almost _eleven years_ since we've lived together. We've got a lot of annoying each other to catch up on."

"I think you've already started," he smirked.

"_I've_ started? I'm not the one chasing off all _your_ friends who happen to be the opposite sex," she said, her arms folded.

"Yeah, well get used to it, 'cause I'm not having no half-wit punks hanging all over you."

"Well, no problem then, since you're the only half-wit punk I know," she shot back.

"Oh, that's it," he cried. Leaping at her, he tackled her, scattering boxes across the floor.

* * *

Shizuka and their mother both saw him off at the train station, although his mother, still upset from their earlier argument, hung back, silent, as he hugged his sister good-bye.

"I'll see you in a week, 'kay Sis?" he said, squeezing her tightly.

"One week," she agreed. Pulling back, she smiled at him. "And then we go to America in a little more than a month!"

"And we get to see Yugi and everyone. I can't believe it's been two years since we've seen him," Jounouchi shook his head. "Been _way_ too long."

His train was announced and he let go of his sister and went over to his mother. "Hey Ma, it was a good graduation party. And… thanks for everything."

She nodded and blinked, then suddenly gave him a hug. "I love you, Katsuya. Remember that."

"I know, Ma," he said.

"You take care of her when she gets there."

"You know it."

"Okay, then. Have a good trip back."

He nodded, then turned to give Shizuka one more squeeze. "I'll pick you up at the train station next week."

"Mm-hmm. See you then, Big Brother."

When he got on the train, he found a window seat where he could see them standing on the platform. Shizuka waved at him through the window and he waved back. As the train pulled away from the station, he sat back in his seat, smiling. Eleven long years, and now there was only one week left to wait. One more week until she finally came home.

_-END-_


End file.
